Broken
by brittanafor3ver
Summary: Santana Lopez is the flirty bakery owner, while Brittany S. Pierce is the uptight NYPD police chief. When a series of crimes brings the two together, what will happen? *Brittana AU*
1. Chapter 1

Brittany stripped out of her all black uniform and traded it for sweats and a tank top. She undid the tight ponytail her hair was smoothed back into, and shook her now wavy hair out and ran her fingers through her long blonde locks. She then examined the dark purple bruise on her left cheek that she had gotten earlier from taking down a drug dealer, and flinched when her finger tips barely grazed it.

"Hey Britt." Tina, the blonde's best friend and roommate, came walking into the room with a mug of tea in her hands. "How was work today?"

"We found the girl who went missing over two weeks ago." Brittany sighed, taking the mug from Tina. "She was dead in an alley."

"Oh Britt..." Tina wrapped her arms tightly around the blonde, careful not to spill the hot tea in her hands. "I'm so sorry."

Brittany shrugged and tilted up the mug towards her mouth. "It happens. What else can you expect from New York City?" Brittany has been working for the NYPD for almost seven years now, and was recently made chief of the department. She was one of the best officers in the entire state of New York, and has been appreciated much by her department and colleagues.

Tina nodded and took a seat on Brittany's bed. "Well, what do you say we take your mind off things for a little while by ordering take out and having a _Friends_ marathon?"

"I say that sounds like a pretty great idea." Brittany smiled, as she set the mug down on her dresser and leaned down to grab her _Friends_ DVD collection beside her small vanity mirror.

"I'll order the food. Orange chicken with veggies and dirty rice?" Tina arched a brow, holding her phone up to her ear.

"Always." The blonde smiled, gathering up the DVDs in her arms and followed Tina out into the living room.

"How many fortune cookies should I ask for?" Tina asked, moving the phone away from her ear.

"Five." Brittany smirked, setting the pile of DVDs down on the table. Fortune cookies had always been her and Tina's thing. They'd order way more than they probably should, but would take the fortunes and mix them up, then draw one from the pile. Whichever one you got, that was what your lucky fortune was.

"It should be here in 15 minutes." Tina informed her, taking the DVD Brittany was holding out to her and slid it into the DVD player. "What season are we watching?"

"9, my all time favorite."

"Because we haven't seen it a million times." Tina rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch.

"We've seen every season a million times. Might as well be my favorite tonight." Brittany shrugged while pulling one of the fluffy pillows into her lap and hugging it to her chest.

Tina laughed and shook her head. "True, Britt. Very true."

...

"Hey, excuse me. I've been waiting for almost five minutes now." An annoyed brunette said, waving her hand in front of Santana's face.

"I suggest you back on up unless you want to be waiting for an ambulance here in a second." Santana snapped, tucking her phone in the pocket of her skinny jeans and moved in front of the register. "What can I get you?" She asked with fake sweetness.

The brunette huffed and pointed to the display case. "I want one of those."

"A chocolate pastry?" Santana arched a brow, taking the item out of the case and setting it in a small white box. "That'll be $2.75."

"$2.75 for that?" She scoffed, pushing the box away. "I'm not paying that much money for _that_."

"Then don't buy it." Santana rolled her eyes.

"You're an awful employee."

"And you're awful at pretending that hair color is natural." Santana smirked, making the other woman gasp and storm away. "Bye!" She called after her.

"Santana." Rachel let out a frustrated sigh. "You cannot keep driving away business with your offensive insults." Santana and Rachel opened their own bakery a few years ago, with the help of Rachel's dads and the large amount of money Santana's parents send her every week. A few months after opening the place, Quinn showed up in New York and decided to help the two run the business.

"Rach, it's not my fault most our customers have self esteem issues and can't take a joke." Santana said innocently, leaning back against the counter.

"How many strawberry muffins do we have left?" Quinn asked, walking out of the kitchen and over to Rachel and Santana.

Rachel ducked her head down to check the display case. "Six."

"Seriously? I just made a batch this morning." The blonde huffed, examining the rest of the case. "They must've been selling like crazy this morning."

Santana bit her lip and took a step further away from Quinn. "Well..."

"Santana, what did I say about eating the food in the display case?" Quinn snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh calm down Fabray, I only ate two and sold the rest. Don't get your grandma panties in a twist."

"Oh, don't you start your shit with me Santan-"

"Shhhh, here comes a customer." Rachel hissed out, shutting both women up.

An attractive red head came waltzing into the bakery in a tight pencil skirt and light blouse, unbuttoned just enough to show some cleavage. "Hi, can I get a cream cheese Danish?" She asked sweetly, staring at Santana with her dark blue eyes.

Santana licked her lips and smirked, leaning down against the counter, giving the woman a clear view of her black lace bra. "Will that be all?"

"Well, that depends." The red head smirked back, her blue eyes darkening. "If you're free Friday night."

"Give me your number and I'll let you know." Santana said smoothly, flipping her dark locks over her shoulder.

The red head took a slip of paper and pen out of her purse and wrote it down, then slid it across the counter to the Latina. "Call me."

"We'll see." Santana winked, watching the woman walk away, shaking her ass a little more than she should've.

Quinn rolled her eyes at the scenario and uncrossed her arms. "You know Santana, maybe one day you'll stop sleeping with every living thing in New York and actually find someone to be in a relationship with."

"Hey, I don't sleep with everyone. Only attractive women." She pointed out. "And don't say the R word around me. I don't do those."

Quinn sighed and took a step closer to the dark-haired woman. "If this is about your dad-"

"Don't." Santana hissed. "Don't you fucking dare, Quinn."

"San..."

Santana closed her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose. "My shift's over. I'm going home." Without waiting for a response, the Latina stormed out of the bakery and out into the busy streets of New York. She was halfway down the block, when she heard whimpering noises coming from inside an alley. She cautiously turned down the path and looked for the source of the noise.

Santana was about to leave when she noticed an arm laying from behind one of the dumpsters. She slowly walked around to get a better view, and gasped at the sight. "Oh my god." She choked out, fumbling with her phone to call 911.

...

"I always thought Ross and Rachel should end up together." Tina pointed out, before taking another bite of her chicken with her chopsticks.

"Really? I kinda wanted Rachel to end up with Joey."

"What? No way." Tina shook her head, leaning forward to reach for the soy sauce. "Maybe for a little fling, but a long term relationship would have to be Ross and Rachel."

Brittany scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "I still prefer Joey, but whatever you say Tina."

"Speaking of relationships..." Tina started, but Brittany had already interrupted.

"I'm not having this conversation with you again." Brittany rolled her eyes, setting her empty cart on the table. "Relationships just aren't for me."

"You never know, B. I didn't think I would find Mike, but the universe proved me wrong." Tina gave her a pointed look and continued to eat the dirty rice.

"Oh come on. You and Mike were like meant to be together. You do have the same last name after all, for awhile I thought you were cousins." Brittany pointed out.

Tina sighed. "And there's someone meant for you out there, you just need to go find them."

The blonde shook her head. "No thanks. I think I'll just stick with Lord T for awhile."

"Where is he, by the way? I haven't seen him in a couple of days." Tina asked, sitting forward and looking around the small living room.

"He's been hiding under my bed. I think he's still mad at you for replacing his regular cat food with the low fat kind." Brittany shrugged.

"I already apologized!" Tina whined. "Brit, you have to admit your cat is huge."

"He's just big boned." Brittany pouted, leaning back against the couch.

"Yeah, yeah." Tina rolled her eyes, while leaning forward to grab the tv remote. "Your phone's ringing Brit." She said, handing the blonde her iPhone which had been vibrating on the coffee table.

"It's the department." Brittany sighed, pulling herself off the couch and answering her phone.

_Hello?_

**Pierce, we need you down at the corner of Jackson street by Pezberry's bakery. You know it?**

_Yes, I do._

**There's been a murder of a young women. We've examined most of the body, and it looks like the killer from the Johnson case is back.**

_I'm on my way. _

...

"Hello Ms. Lopez, I'm detective Evans, can you tell me what you saw behind this dumpster?" The blonde with huge lips asked Santana, nodding his head in the direction of the alley.

"I had just left my bakery, which is right over there." She pointed behind Sam at the building. "I was walking past the alley when I heard whimpering noises, and decided to check it out. As I got close towards the dumpster, it became louder so I figured whatever it was, it was hiding behind there. I thought it would just be an injured animal or something but..." She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a shaky breath, unable to continue.

"Did you see anyone else around besides the woman?" Detective Evans questioned further, taking notes on his notepad.

Santana shook her head. "No. It was completely empty."

"Ok." He nodded, continuing to write.

"What's going on?" Both heads turned, and Santana's eyes landed on the most beautiful woman she's even seen in her life. Those piercing blue eyes were staring directly into her dark ones, before she broke the contact and looked back to Sam.

"This woman, Yasmine Sanchez, was stabbed to death in the back of this alley." Sam informed her, then looked back to his notepad.

Brittany frowned. "What makes Schuester think this is related to the Johnson case?"

"The woman had the numbers 6468 carved down her arm. If you remember correctly, Johnson-"

"Johnson would carve even numbers into his victims bodies, yes I remember." Brittany interrupted, placing her hands on her hips. "Did you see anyone else?" She asked, facing Santana.

The Latina was still in awe with the blonde, completely oblivious to the question she had been asked. It wasn't until Brittany started snapping her fingers in her face, that she was knocked out of her daze. "Whoa, ok, get your hands out of my face." Santana snapped, taking a step away from the blonde.

"Well pay attention then, I asked you a question." Brittany bit back, narrowing her eyes at the Latina. "Did you see anyone else?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "No. Just as I told Trouty here a few minutes ago, it was empty except for the woman."

Brittany bit her lip and nodded, looking down the alley which was filled with officers. "Ok." She sighed.

Santana couldn't help but notice how incredibly hot the blonde looked at the moment, and a smug smile appeared on her face. "So, blondie, if you're not busy later..."

"You're not really my type." Brittany snapped, before walking away from the two and heading down the dark alley.

_Ouch._


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed the last chapter. Glad you're enjoying the story so far. **

**...**

Santana glanced over her shoulder when she heard a series of footsteps, somewhat surprised to see Rachel and Quinn running full speed towards her and Sam.

"Santana! What happened?" Rachel panted in attempt to catch her breath, frantically looking between the Latina and Sam.

"I'm sorry, but you can't be here." Sam stopped them, stepping in front of Santana and holding out both of his hands. "This is a closed off area."

"No, it's ok, they're with me." Santana reassured him.

Sam frowned. "But-"

"Listen, why don't you take your guppy lips over there and investigate some shit, ok?" Santana snapped, her eyes narrowing dangerously at the big lipped blonde in front of her.

Sam snapped his mouth shut and slowly nodded, before quickly backing away from the three women.

"Santana, what's going on?" Quinn frowned as she took a step closer towards the Latina.

Santana let out a shaky breath and met Rachel and Quinn's concerned eyes. "I'll explain everything at home." She stated, her eyes scanning over the scene one last time before shaking her head. "Let's go."

...

"Puckerman, what do we got?" Brittany asked, walking over to the crime scene. The blonde was pretty much immune to the sight of dead bodies by now, it was sad knowing how many she sees daily.

"Stabbing in the chest area, the stomach, and the forearms. Also the number carving from the crease of the elbow to the wrist on the left arm." Puck informed her, meeting her eyes, then looking back to the body.

Brittany nodded. "Time of death?" She continued.

"7:42pm."

"So, that means she was still alive when that woman found her." The blonde mumbled to herself, furrowing her brows together in thought.

"You mean Santana?"

Brittany's head snapped towards the man. "You know her?"

"We went to high school together." Puck shrugged.

"I need to question her again, maybe Ms. Sanchez said something to her before she died." Brittany ran her fingers through her hair, which she didn't bother pulling up in her usual ponytail, and walked away from Puck and back to the a spot where she last saw the Latina.

"Evans, where did Ms. Lopez go?" Brittany frowned, looking up and down the street for any possible sight of Santana.

"She left."

"_She left_?"

"Yeah, she said she had nothing left to do here and wanted to go home. She left with her friends about seven minutes ago." Sam shrugged, continuing to write on his notepad.

"Dammit." Brittany sighed, bringing her fingers up to massage her temples.

"I don't know if this'll be much help, but I'm pretty sure Jones can look up her address for you."

Brittany stopped her movements and looked at Sam intently. "Jones? As in Mercedes Jones?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, you know she has access to all that stuff. Just go down to the station and have her search it for you."

"Doesn't that seem a little, I don't know, stalkerish?" Brittany frowned.

"Well, how bad do you want to talk to Lopez? Because I doubt you'll find her any other way."

She had to agree with that.

...

"Hey Cedes." Brittany greeted, walking into Mercedes's office at NYPD headquarters.

Mercedes looked up from her computer screen and smiled. "Hey Britt, what's up?"

"Well," Brittany started, taking a seat in one of Mercedes's office chairs. "I was actually hoping you could help me out with something."

"Of course, chief." Mercedes winked. "What do you need?"

"I need you to find Santana Lopez's address for me." Brittany said as normal as she could, without trying to sound like a creeper.

Mercedes raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should've gotten her number when you had the chance, B."

"No, no, no, not like that." Brittany chuckled while shaking her head. "She was at the crime scene today and I have a few more questions I need to ask her. She left before I had the chance."

Mercedes nodded in understanding and looked back to her computer. "Well, I'd love to help you Britt, but there's probably hundreds of Santana Lopez's in New York City."

"Oh." Brittany frowned, trying not to sound too disappointed.

"Do you have anymore information on her? That could help a lot." Mercedes suggested.

"No..." Brittany sighed, shaking her head slowly. "Wait, she works at Pezberry's bakery." She said triumphantly, randomly remembering the small piece of information.

"With Rachel Berry?" Mercedes questioned, typing away on her keyboard.

"I think so." Brittany nodded.

Five minutes later, Mercedes clasped her hands together and smiled brightly at the blonde. "Here we go." She stated, pointing to the small words on her computer screen.

Brittany leaned forward to copy the address down in the notes section of her iPhone, then wrapped her arms tightly around Mercedes. "Thanks Cedes, I owe you one." The blonde smiled, before sprinting out of the office.

...

"What are you cooking in there Faberry? I'm fucking starving." Santana called from her spot on the couch.

"Chicken Alfredo pasta." Quinn yelled back, continuing to slice up the grilled chicken while Rachel boiled the noodles.

"You could help, you know." Rachel rolled her eyes as she dropped the noodles in the skillet.

"I know, but I don't want to." Santana shrugged, focusing her attention back on the tv show she had been watching.

"Always so honest, Satan." Kurt sighed, walking into the living room with two glasses of wine in his hands.

"You know wh-" Quinn was interrupted by someone banging on their door. She set the knife down and narrowed her eyes at Santana. "What did you do now?" She snapped, placing her hands on her hips.

"Oh fuck you, Quinn. Why do you always assume I did something? It could've been Berry, she could've attacked an innocent bystander who she thought resembled Barbra Streisand." Santana huffed, swinging her legs off the couch and stalking over towards the door.

"What?" She snapped, slamming the door open. Her jaw dropped open when she saw those same piercing blue eyes from earlier staring back at her. "What the hell do you want?"

"I need to ask you a few questions about Ms. Sanchez." Brittany stated calmly.

Santana scrunched up her face in confusion. "Who?"

"The woman you found murdered in the alley." The blonde clarified, stepping further into the apartment.

"I already told you everything I know, and that isn't much. So you can leave now." Santana reached for the door, but Brittany stopped her.

"Will you please just cooperate for a few minutes and answer a couple of questions?" Brittany sighed. "Then I won't ever bother you again."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Fine, but make it quick." She moved out of the way, letting Brittany walk fully into the apartment.

"Santana, who was at the- oh hi!" Rachel smiled, noticing Brittany for the first time.

Quinn poked her head out of the kitchen and into the living room, arching a brow at the sight of the blonde. "Hi?"

"Ladies and gays, this is...?" Santana looked to Brittany, waiting for an answer.

"Officer Pierce." The blonde smiled politely. "I just have a few questions for Ms. Lopez and then I'll be out of your way."

"What type of illegal crime did Santana do this time?" Quinn asked, joining the four in the living room.

"Oh, she didn't do anything. It involves the murder of a young woman earlier."

"Oh yeah, she told us about that." Quinn nodded, taking a seat beside Kurt.

Santana rolled her eyes and looked back to Brittany. "Do you want to go to my room where it's more private?"

"That's fine." Brittany agreed.

"Wow Santana, you just met her a couple of hours ago and you're already taking her to your room. It's a new record."

"Fuck off, Quinn." Santana hissed, before leading the now blushing blonde down the hall and into her bedroom. It was large, with red walls and black and white sheets. She had a full length mirror by the door and a large flat screen tv hanging on the wall. It was elegant, but very much Santana-like.

Santana took a seat on her king sized bed, and looked up to Brittany. "So, questions?"

The blonde was knocked out of her daze and quickly nodded. "Right." She cleared her throat. "Before your call to 911, did Ms. Sanchez say anything to you?"

Santana was quiet for a moment, playing the day's earlier events through her head, before nodding. "Yeah, she kept apologizing."

"Apologizing?" Brittany frowned.

"Yeah." The Latina nodded. "She kept saying how sorry she was and that she wouldn't do it again."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Ok." Brittany slid her phone back into her back pocket, awkwardly shifted her weight between both of her feet.

Santana sighed and hopped off of her bed, walked past the blonde and opened the door. "Is that all?" She asked, stepping into the hallway.

"Yeah, that's all." Brittany nodded, before following Santana back out to the living room.

Rachel smiled at the two as they emerged from the back. "Brittany, would you like to stay for dinner? It's almost finished."

"Oh no, I can't. I have to get back to the station before it gets too late and then head home. But thanks anyways." Brittany politely declined, oblivious to the small frown on Santana's face.

"Oh well, maybe some other time." Rachel smiled, before taking a sip of her wine.

The blonde nodded and returned the smile. "Maybe."

"Well, we don't want to keep you from work so," Santana said, as she walked to the front door of the apartment and opened it, motioning outside.

Brittany made her way to the door, and turned to face Santana. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Lopez."

"Anytime, Officer Pierce." And with that, Brittany left.

...

**2am**

"Santana, Santana wake up babe." Quinn gently shook the Latina's shoulders, while Rachel stood behind her wearing a worried expression.

"No, no." Santana whimpered, clenching her fists tightly.

"Santana, I need you to wake up." Quinn said again, shaking Santana's shoulders more frantically. Santana's eyes popped open and she attempted to pull herself out of the blonde's grasp, but Quinn wrapped her arms tightly around her and pulled her into her chest. "It's just me San, it's Quinn." She said softly, while stroking her hair to calm her down.

"Q?" Santana whimpered, making eye contact with the blonde.

"It's me." Quinn repeated, stroking Santana's cheek with the pad of her thumb.

"Quinn." Santana choked on a sob, burying her face in the blonde's chest.

"I'm here, it's ok." Quinn cooed, running her fingers through the Latina's hair. "You're safe, San. It's just me and Rachel." Quinn continued to rock Santana in her arms until she finally cried herself back to sleep.

"What number is this one?" Rachel asked softly, taking a seat beside Quinn on Santana's bed.

"Sixth one this week." Quinn sighed. "And it's only Thursday."

"Maybe she should talk to someone..."

"You know she won't." The blonde shook her head. "She's too stubborn."

"I wish we could take the bad memories away." Rachel frowned, gently trailing her finger up the Latina's arm. "High school was supposed to be the best time of our lives."

Quinn shrugged defeatedly. "She didn't deserve it. But we can't change what happened, so all we can do is continue to be amazing friends for her."

"We'll always be here for her, she knows that."

"I hope so."


	3. Chapter 3

Santana groaned and buried her head further into the large pile of pillows that covered almost half of her bed. The bright rays of sunshine were pouring through her curtains, and she wanted to slap herself for forgetting to close them the night before.

"Santannnaaaaaa!" Quinn called throughout the apartment, as loud as she possibly could without waking the pepole below them.

"Fucking Quinn." Santana grumbled, forcing herself out of bed and over to her full-length mirror to check her appearance. Her hair was completely disheveled, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her tank top was ridden up right above her belly button, showing off her toned abs.

She smoothed out her hair and pulled down her tank top, knowing there wasn't much she could do about the under-eye circles unless she put on concealer, and it was too early for that, then slowly made her way into the kitchen.

"Wow, you look like shit." Quinn chuckled from her spot at the island.

"Thank you Quinn, you always know how to make a girl feel special." Santana smiled sweetly, before flipping the blonde off.

"No thanks, I'm straight." Quinn winked, before going back to her morning coffee.

Santana grumbled something along the lines of _'you're such a fucking bitch and I hate_ _you'_, then poured herself a cup of coffee. "Where's Berry?" She asked, looking around the empty apartment.

"Right here." Both women looked towards the entrance to the kitchen where Rachel was walking in, holding two brown paper bags. "And I brought breakfast."

Santana scrunched up her nose as she examined the bags. "Please don't tell me you got that from some random guy on the subway again."

"That was one time." Rachel rolled her eyes, before taking a seat beside Quinn. "They're biscuits from that new coffee place up the street. I've been there before so I can assure you that there's nothing to worry about."

"Wait," Quinn said when she saw Santana moving towards the bag. "Before we eat, I need to talk to you. About last night." She looked to the Latina, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. Quinn's talks were never too thrilling.

Santana sighed. "Can I at least shower first?"

"Yes, please." Quinn laughed, earning a smack on the arm from Santana as she walked by.

"Bitch." Santana mumbled, before leaving the kitchen.

Thirty minutes later, Santana emerged from the shower and into the living room where Rachel and Quinn were waiting for her on the couch.

"What the hell were you doing in there? This is why our water bill's so damn high." Quinn snapped,

"I don't think you want to know Fabray, it might sway you towards my team." Santana winked, taking a seat on the couch across from the two.

"Santana, please." Rachel groaned, covering her ears with the palm of her hands. "We would rather not hear about your personal shower activities right now, we have more important things to discuss."

Santana frowned, remembering the whole point of this conversation.

_Shit_.

"Santana, we think you should talk to someone." Quinn said bluntly, ignoring the shocked expression from both her and Rachel. That obviously wasn't the plan.

"What, like a therapist?" They nodded. "Hell no." Santana scoffed, making an attempt to move off of the couch.

"Sit down." Quinn snapped, catching both women by surprise. "I refuse to keep letting this happen and not do anything about it. Santana, you can't act like nothing happened last night. Or the night before that, or before that. We can keep going back until senior year when you showed up at my house-"

"Shut the fuck up Quinn." Santana growled, narrowing her eyes at the blonde. "I'm not talking about it."

"That's the problem!" Quinn exclaimed, clearly frustrated. "You never talk about it! You keep it bottled up inside and act like everything's ok when it isn't. Bad shit happens Santana, you need to face your problems."

"Maybe I don't want to! Ever think of that, Q? I don't want to fucking talk about it and I don't have to." Santana hissed, pushing herself off of the couch.

"And I don't want to watch you suffer every night when you have a nightmare and wake up screaming, but guess what? I have to because you're too damn stubborn to put your pride aside and admit you need help." Quinn bit back, now standing also.

"Ok, ok," Rachel stood in between the two, holding out her hands. "Let's stop before you say something you'll regret."

Quinn let out a shaky breath, before looking up to meet Santana's eyes, which were now a bright shade of red and glazed with unshed tears. "San..."

"I'll be in my room." Santana said lowly, as she pushed past her friends and stormed away.

Quinn started to go after her, but Rachel stopped her. "Give her some time." She said calmly, glancing in the direction of the Latina's room.

The blonde nodded and gave her a weak smile, before retreating to her own bedroom.

...

"Morning Britt." Tina smiled, setting a mug of coffee down in front of the blonde.

"Thanks." Brittany mumbled, then practically downed the coffee in a matter of coffee.

Tina's eyes widened as she stared at Brittany, slightly shocked. "Jesus B, what was that?"

"Long night." Brittany shrugged, before she pushed herself out of the chair and made her way over to the counter to re-fill her coffee.

"Ah." Tina nodded in understanding. "Well, isn't it your day off?" She asked, propping her elbows up against the table.

"Yes, thankfully." Brittany sighed, feeling relief by the warm substance running down her throat. "I'll never get over how amazing you are at making coffee."

"It's my mom's secret recipe." Tina winked, taking a sip from her own mug.

"Wait," Brittany's eyes widened. "There isn't like, panda hair or anything in this, right?"

Tina chuckled and shook her head. "No Britt. There's no panda hair." She reassured her, before looking at her watch. "Ugh, I need to get ready for work."

"What? You work today?" Brittany pouted.

"I know, it sucks." Tina frowned, as she took the blonde's now-empty mug and put it in the sink along with her own.

Brittany groaned dramatically and tilted her head to the side. "The universe must be working against us, because every time you work, I'm off. And vice versa."

Tina laughed. "Well, even though I won't be here, you should get out of the house and do something." She suggested, leaning back against the counter.

"Like what?" Brittany raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't know, it's New York. You can't sit inside all day and watch reruns of _Friends_ by yourself."

"I won't be by myself, I have Lord Tubbs." The blonde pointed out, nodding her head over to the living room where Lord Tubbington was laying on the couch.

"Why is he looking at me like he's about to jump me?" Tina asked, slowly backing away from the doorway.

"He always looks like that." Brittany shrugged.

Tina rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I really need to go get ready, or I'm going to be late."

"Fine," Brittany huffed. "But you owe me a day worth of Friends."

"I'll make sure to pay up that dept." Tina smiled, as she walked out of the kitchen. "And get out of the apartment today, Britt!" She called over her shoulder, before disappearing into her bedroom.

"We'll see!" Brittany yelled back, then moved from her spot in the kitchen to the living room, and curled up next to Lord Tubbington while watching _Extreme Couponing_.

...

Santana wrapped her arms tightly around herself while pushing through the crowded streets of New York. It was basically negative degrees outside, and to say she was freezing her ass off would be an understatement. Rachel needed someone to go by the company to discuss ordering more product for the bakery, and Santana had offered, taking any chance she could get to escape their tension filled apartment.

"Watch where you're fucking going." She growled, when someone knocked into her, causing her to drop the stack of papers she had been holding. "Just fucking perfect." She sighed, bending down and attempting to gather as much as she could.

"I'm so sorry." A familiar voice apologized, before bending down next to the Latina and helped get together most of the papers.

"Pierce?" Santana blinked, taking in the flushed blonde's appearance. Her long blonde hair was loose and draped down her shoulders, her cheeks were a bright shade of red, either from the cold or from the fact that she just knocked down an innocent pedestrian, Santana couldn't tell.

Brittany looked up from the ground, meeting dark brown eyes. "Lopez."

"I thought you said you wouldn't ever bother me again?" Santana teased, gladly accepting the small stack of now-wrinkled and slightly muddy papers from Brittany.

Brittany laughed, and Santana could swear it was one of the best sounds she's ever heard in her life. "I did..." She gave Santana a small smile.

"Doesn't look like you're living up to your word." The Latina smirked, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. "You're not working today?" She asked, looking down at the blonde's outfit and noticed she was wearing leggings, light brown UGGs, and a light pea-coat with an oversized sweater underneath, instead of her usual uniform.

Brittany shook her head and tucked her hands in the pockets of her coat. "Oh no, luckily it's my day off."

"Same here." Santana nodded, tucking the papers into her purse. "Where were you headed?"

Brittany shrugged. "No where in particular. I was thinking about grabbing a bite to eat."

"Well," Santana started, "So was I. Maybe we could get something together?"

Brittany raised a brow and opened her mouth to say something, but Santana quickly stopped her. "Not as a date." She laughed, noticing the expression the blonde was wearing. "I'm not hitting on you, I promise."

"Hmm..." Brittany tapped her chin. "How am I supposed to trust you after you hit on me at a crime scene?" She smirked when Santana's face turned a light shade of red.

"I-uh-um..."

"I'm just messing with you, Santana." Brittany giggled. "Yes, we can go get lunch together."

"Just as friends." Santana added, and Brittany nodded in agreement.

"Just as friends."

"Well Officer Pierce," Santana playfully winked, offering her arm to the blonde. "Let's get a move on."

Brittany laughed and wrapped her arm through the Latina's. "Please, call me Brittany."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'll have the chicken fettucini Alfredo."

"And I'll have the spaghetti with extra meatballs."

"Alright, I'll get that out to you soon." Their waiter smiled, before taking their menus and walking away.

"So, have you been here before?" Santana asked, watching the blonde take a sip of her drink.

Brittany shook her head and swallowed. "Nope, never."

"What?" Santana's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. "Seriously? You've never been to Breadstix?"

"No..."

"Brittany!" Santana exclaimed, shaking her head. "What is wrong with you?"

"In my defense, I didn't even know this restaurant was here." Brittany shrugged.

"It's Breadstix!"

"Santana." Brittany laughed. "I promise I'll come here more, if that makes you happy."

"It does." Santana gave the blonde a short nod. "Quinn, Rachel, and I come here at least once a week. It's my favorite restaurant."

"I should bring Tina here sometime." Brittany said thoughtfully, more to herself than to Santana.

Santana frowned and cocked her head to the side. "Who's Tina?"

Brittany raised a brow and bit her lip to keep a smirk from appearing. "My best friend and roommate." She informed her.

"Oh." Santana cleared her throat, ignoring the slight blush that appeared on her face. It's moments like these when she's thankful that it's difficult to tell when an ethnic person blushes.

Brittany eyed her carefully, before saying, "Yeah."

"Here you go." The waiter arrived with their food, just in time to break the tense moment between the two.

"Thank you." Brittany gave him a polite smile, while Santana switched their plates since the man had set them down wrong.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Their waiter asked politely, looking between both women.

Santana shook her head. "I think we're good for now." She stated while glancing at Brittany, who nodded in agreement.

"Alright, well call for me if you need anything." He said, his eyes lingering on the blonde a little longer than Santana appreciated.

Santana narrowed her eyes at the man. "We will." She flashed him a small smirk beforw he scurried away.

"I think he's afraid of you." Brittany whispered, glancing in the direction their waiter disappeared to.

"He should be." Santana shrugged, before cutting up her meatballs and licking her lips.

"Wow, this looks amazing." Brittany grinned, looking to Santana who was already devouring her food. The sight made the blonde smile.

"Ihmssn." Santana mumbled, before shoving another forkful of noodles and sauce into her mouth.

Brittany giggled and took a bite of her own food, her eyes practically rolling back at the taste. "Oh my god." She moaned, quickly taking another bite. "This is delicious."

"I know right?" Santana sighed, glancing down at her already halfway empty plate. "Oops." She shrugged, before taking a sip of her drink.

Brittany opened her mouth to say something, but began chuckling when she noticed the glob of spaghetti sauce on the corner of the Latina's mouth.

"What?" Santana frowned, furrowing her brows at the blonde.

"You have a little," Brittany pointed to the corner of her mouth, and laughed even harder when Santana attempted to remove it with her tongue, but failed each time.

"Here," The blonde said softly, leaning across the table to wipe away the sauce with the pad of her thumb. She looked up and her eyes connected with dark brown, they held each other's gaze until a clinking noise in the background brought them back to reality.

"Um..." Brittany bit her lip, before quickly pulling back.

"Yeah." Santana breathed out.

The two of them continued to eat in silence.

...

"So, what now?" Santana asked, once the waiter took away their empty dishes thirty minutes later.

"Well, I really wanted to go for a walk in Central Park since I haven't been in awhile." Brittany bit her lip and shrugged. "You can come if you want?"

Santana smiled. "I have nothing else planned, so that sounds perfect."

"Awesome. We can head over there right after he brings us the bill." Brittany said, frowning when Santana shook her head.

"I already paid it." Santana winked as she slid out of the booth and headed towards the door. Brittany shook her head and reluctantly followed, letting a small smile grace her lips.

The walk to the Central Park took less time than expected, only ten minutes down the road. Brittany had her arm looped through Santana's, while the two walked down a deserted trail in the park.

"I knew yellow was your favorite." Santana smiled at the blonde, before looking up at the sky.

"How?" Brittany asked while tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"Yellow is just so...you." Santana glanced at Brittany, before continuing. "It's bright and happy. Just like you." She explained.

"You think I'm bright and happy?" Brittany blushed.

Santana sucked in her lips and nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"I wasn't always this way." Brittany frowned, pulling her arm away from the Latina's as she got lost in some of her most unpleasant thoughts.

Santana noticed the tension that fell over them and raised a brow. "What happened?" She asked softly.

"Nothing." Brittany snapped, before biting her lip and squeezing her eyes shut. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, looking at her feet.

Santana placed her hand on the small of the blonde's back and smiled. "It's ok Brittany. You don't have to tell me." She realized where her hand was and quickly jerked it back, as if Brittany's back had been on fire. "It's none of my business anyways."

Brittany let out a shaky breath as her eyes met Santana's. "I should probably get back, Tina's probably wondering where I am." She stated, her eyes resting on the concrete below them.

Santana nodded while tightening her arms around herself. "Same here."

"I'll see you around, Santana." Brittany offered her a small smile, before turning on her heels and walking away.

Santana was so caught up in not so subtly staring at the blonde's ass, that she forgot what she planned to do since they left Breadstix. "Dammit," She groaned, smacking her forehead. "I forgot to get her number." She mumbled a few curse words under her breath, before deciding to head home.

...

**6pm**

"Santana!" The mixture of worry and relief clear in Quinn's voice as she threw her arms around the Latina's neck.

Santana frowned and attempted to pry herself out of the blonde's grip. "Whoa, Fabray, back up a little, I have boundaries."

"Where the hell have you been? We've been worried sick about you." Quinn snapped, glancing at Rachel who had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Sorry _mom_, I didn't know I had a curfew." Santana rolled her eyes while pushing past Quinn and walking towards her bedroom.

"You left hours ago and we had no idea where you were. Do you know how worried we've been?" Quinn yelled as she followed the Latina into her room. "No you probably don't, because it's rare you think about anyone but yourself!"

"I'm a grown woman, I don't think you should be that concerned." Santana snapped, while changing out of her clothes into something more comfortable.

"I'm your best friend, of course I'm concerned. You weren't answering your damn phone!" The blonde hissed, slamming Santana's door behind her.

"It died, Q. What did you want me to do?" Santana sighed and leaned back against her dresser.

"Make sure you charge it before you leave the fucking apartment, Santana! Somebody was murdered a few days ago and we couldn't get ahold of you, do you know how worried I was when your phone kept going straight to voicemail?" Quinn's bottom lip quivered, and guilt washed over Santana's body.

"Q...come here." Santana said softly, opening her arms for the blonde.

Quinn wrapped her arms tightly around the Latina's waist and sniffled. "I can't lose you, S. I can't."

Santana tightened her hold on the blonde and shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere babe. I'm sorry I didn't answer my phone, ok? I'll make sure I call you or Berry next time."

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you earlier. I'm just worried about you, me and Rachel both." Quinn whispered into Santana's shoulder.

"I know you are, but I can handle myself." Santana pulled away from the hug and looked into the blonde's eyes. "I don't need you to take care of me, Q."

Quinn sighed and nodded. "Will you at least go to one therapy session? Please?" She saw how hesitant the Latina looked and quickly added, "If you don't like it and never want to go back again, then you don't have to. But please just give it a try."

Santana bit her lip and stayed quiet for a few moments, before slowly nodding. "Ok, fine. Just one." She gave the blonde a pointed look, while holding up one finger.

Quinn let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." Santana rolled her eyes, and walked past Quinn to open her bedroom door. "Now let's go torture Berry by singing an off-key version of _Don't Rain On My_ _Parade_."

"I heard that!" Rachel yelled from the living room. "And I refuse to listen to it! Now who wants to watch _Funny Girl_ with-"

"No!" Santana and Quinn snapped at the same time, exchanging a knowing glance before returning to the front of the apartment.

"Well, can we at least watch some type of musical? It is my choice of movie night, after all." Rachel huffed, sliding _Funny Girl _back into the DVD pile.

"No. I refuse to sit through an hour and a half of you belting out old Broadway hits, uh-uh." Santana shook her head.

"What about _Mamma Mia_? I promise I won't sing along, not loud enough for you to hear anyways." Rachel pleaded, giving the Latina her best puppy dog look.

Santana rolled her eyes. "The only way you sing is loud, Berry."

"Look Rachel, how about if we watch _Mamma Mia_ with you, then you have to watch a movie of our choice." Quinn suggested, glancing at Santana who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, and I'm kind of in the mood for _Texas Chainsaw Massacre_." Santana smirked.

"Ugh, fine! I will watch your ruthless and graphic choice of film, but that means I can sing along to mine." Rachel said hopefully, looking between both women.

"Deal." Quinn nodded, without waiting for a response from Santana. Rachel clapped happily and grabbed the _Mamma Mia_ case, before sliding the movie in their Blu-Ray player.

"I'm so going to regret this later." Santana sighed, leaning back against the couch to get comfortable for the most torturous hour and a half of her life.

...

"Britt? You're actually dressed in something other than your work uniform...did you go out?!"

"Tina, you act like I never go anywhere." Brittany sighed, burying her face in Lord Tubbington's fur.

"Because you don't." She shrugged. "But I want all the details of your day. First off, where'd you go?"

"I just went for a walk."

"A walk, huh?" Tina raised a brow. "Then what's that _Breadstix_ bag doing on the kitchen counter?"

"Ok...so I might've had lunch." Brittany stated innocently as she gave the woman a small shrug.

"With?!" Tina asked excitedly, clasping her hands together.

The blonde rolled her eyes and set the furry cat down on the floor. "Just a friend, Tina. Calm down."

"Just a friend? Then why are you blushing?" She laughed.

Brittany's face turned a darker shade of red as she jumped off of the couch. "I'm going to bed now, bye."

Tina reached out and grabbed the blonde's elbow before she could leave. "Wait, no Britt. Tell me about this friend."

"Tina." Brittany whined, very aware of how hot her face felt.

"I need to make sure they're good enough for you." Tina said pointedly, poking Brittany's side playfully.

"I don't like Santana!" She blurted, her eyes widening once she realized what she said.

"Santana? You mean that chick from the crime scene?" Tina arched a brow, smirking when Brittany's ears turned red with confirmation.

"Maybe..." Brittany mumbled.

"Is she single? Is she gay? Does she like you back? Tell me!" Tina rambled out, bouncing in her chair excitedly.

"I don't know! Why don't you google her if you want to know so badly?" Brittany teased.

Tina shrugged and pulled out her phone, making the blonde's eyes widen. "Tina! I was kidding!"

"Santana Marie Lopez, born in Lima, Ohio. Graduated from NYU in 2011, and is currently 25 years old." Tina listed off, glancing at Brittany.

Brittany shook her head. "Tina, seriously? That's creepy." She sighed while gently rubbing her temples.

"She's hot Britt, way to go!" Tina winked. "I'd even get with her if I weren't straight." She added.

"Tina, stop." Brittany buried her burning face in the safety of her palms. "Could you imagine how creeped out she would be if she found out about this? She'd never want to see me again, and I wouldn't blame her."

"So you admit you want to see her again?" Tina raised her brows suggestively.

"Tina!" Brittany groaned.

"Hey, I just need to make sure your future girlfriend isn't a psycho or something." Tina put her hands up defensively, before hopping out of the chair and walking towards her bedroom. "We are in New York City, remember? There are a ton of psychopaths roaming the streets."

"She's not my future girlfriend!"

"If you say so!"

...

**4am**

Brittany stirred in her sleep for the seventh time that night, letting out a shaky breath as dark memories flooded her mind.

_"How old are you, Miss. Pierce?" The short and stocky police officer asked, glancing up at the blonde._

_"Eighteen." Brittany said softly, wiping away the wetness on her cheeks. "I need to see my sister." She stated, crossing her arms over her chest._

_"I'm afraid I can't let you do that right now." He frowned, while continuing to take notes on his small notepad._

_"Why not?" Brittany choked out, forcing herself not to break down again._

_"They're doing an autopsy report on the body right now. I can't let you in there."_

_"I know what happened. Why isn't anyone listening to me?" Brittany snapped, running her fingers through her blonde hair.  
_  
_"Miss. Pierce, there is no proof that your father-"_

_"No proof? My word isn't good enough for you?" Brittany hissed, ignoring the fresh wave of tears now falling down her face._

_"I'm afraid not." He shook his head sadly. "They're continuing the investigation right now, if we find anything we'll let you know."_

_"I'm not leaving." Brittany squeezed her eyes shut. "I need to see Haley."_

_The man sighed and reached out to touch the blonde's arm, but she quickly pulled back. "You can't-"_

_"Why not? She's my little sister, I need to be with her." Brittany cried out, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "She's only twelve..."_

_"Miss. Pierce, please calm down."_

_"Take me to my sister!" Brittany screamed, shoving the police officer against the wall, then quickly pulled away by two larger men._

_"Get her out of here." The man stated calmly, ignoring the cries and pleas from the blonde._

"Haley." Brittany gasped out, opening her eyes abruptly. Her breathing was labored and she noticed her body was covered in a thin sheet of sweat.

Brittany sniffled and buried her face in her hands while shaking her head repeatedly. "I should've been there." She whispered, before wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "I'm so sorry, Haley." She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to go back to sleep without anymore flashbacks. After twenty more minutes, Brittany realized she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, and decided to go to the kitchen for a glass of water. Just as she was filling her cup with ice, Tina sleepily shuffled into the room.

"What're you doin B?" Tina mumbled, while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Getting some water. Go back to sleep, Tina."

Tina immediately woke up when she heard the waver in Brittany's voice, and narrowed her eyes. "What's wrong?" She said sternly, walking closer towards the blonde.

"I'm fine." Brittany gave Tina a weak smile, before setting her now-empty glass in the sink.

"You're not." Tina frowned, staring into her best friend's red and glazed eyes.

"Not tonight, Tina, please." Brittany said softly.

Tina studied her face for a few more moments, before sighing and reluctantly stepping away. "Fine. But this conversation isn't over, we're talking about it tomorrow."

"Thank you." Brittany sighed, too emotionally drained to say anything else.

Tina gave her a short nod, before turning around and retuning to her room. Brittany stood in the kitchen for a few more minutes, trying to gather her thoughts together. When she glanced at the clock and saw it was almost five, she forced herself back to her room where she spent most of the time tossing and turning until it was time for her to get ready for work.

...

"Pierce, you ok? You seem a little out of it today."

Brittany looked up from the cup of coffee she had been staring at for the greater part of the morning, and glanced to Puck. "I'm fine, just a little tired." She mumbled.

"Are you sure? You look kind of-"

"I'm fine, Puckerman." She snapped, before turning her attention back to the cup of coffee.

"Oh ok." Puck nodded, quickly dropping the subject.

"Guys, you have to see this." The two looked away from each other and over towards the door, where Mercedes was walking in with her laptop tucked under her arm.

Brittany sat up straighter and tilted her head to the side. "What is it?"

Mercedes took a seat beside the blonde and set her laptop on the desk. "I received an anonymous email that I'm pretty sure is connected to the Sanchez case." She clicked a file which pulled up the email, and scrolled down while letting Brittany and Puck read it.

"Did you trace the URL?" Puck frowned as his eyes scanned the screen.

"That's the problem." Mercedes sighed. "I've tried, but every time I scan it, it closes out."

"They've done this before." Brittany bit her lip, while pulling out her phone.

"What are you doing?" Puck asked, watching the blonde's actions.

"Typing this out in my notes to show to Schuester later."

"Speaking of Schuester..." Puck before answering his phone. After a few minutes on the phone, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood up. "There's been another murder on the corner of Jackson street."

"That's five minutes from Pezberry's bakery." Brittany said to herself, furrowing her brows in thought.

Mercedes raised a brow and closed her laptop. "You think these murders could be connected to Pezberry's?"

"I don't know, but we're about to find out." Mercedes and Puck exchanged a glance, before following the blonde out of the building.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry it's been longer than usual, I've been busy lately so I don't have as much time to write, and unfortunately, won't be able to update as much.**

**Thank you for all the PMs, favorites, and follows. I can't believe it's almost at 150, that's amazing.**

**But anyways, here's a new chapter, so I hope you enjoy it.**

**...**

"Whoa, hold up. What's going on?" Quinn asked quickly when at least ten NYPD officers walked into the bakery.

"We have a few questions for Quinn Fabray, Rachel Berry, and Santana Lopez." Puck stated, his face remaining hard.

"What the hell?" Santana snapped as she emerged from the back room. "You're blocking away business. Move out of the way." She demanded.

Will stepped forward and shook his head. "You're closed down." He stated, pointing to the sign that was now hanging on the door.

"Excuse me, what?" Rachel squeaked, dropping the cake in her hands.

"You can't fucking do that, how are we supposed to pay the bills?" Santana hissed out, while Rachel and Quinn attempted to clean up the mess on the floor. "Rent is due at the end of the week."

"Why don't you just get your dad to send you some extra cash? I know he was a lawyer in high school." Puck suggested, then winced slightly under Santana's harsh glare.

"No." Santana said lowly while clenching her fists tightly, "I don't need help from my fucking father."

She was fuming now, and Quinn noticed, quickly hopping off of the floor and placing the hand that wasn't covered in cake on the small of the Latina's back. "Breathe, San." She whispered against her ear.

"Ms. Lopez, you need to calm down." Will shook his head. "We don't have time for any outbursts. We're on a tight schedule."

Santana went to take a step forward, but Quinn held her back. "Hey, hey, Santana. Look at me." The blonde said softly, tightly gripping the Latina's forearm with her free hand.

Santana broke her intense gaze on Will and made eye contact with Quinn, who's eyes were soft and loving. "It's ok. We'll figure something out." She reassured her.

Santana visibly relaxed at the calmness in her voice and slowly nodded. "Ok." She sighed, glancing at the NYPD one last time, before pulling out of the blonde's grip and leaving the room.

"She'll be ok." Rachel said quietly to Quinn, while throwing the discarded cake in the trash can.

"I hope so." The blonde murmured back, before turning to the officers. "Can you explain to us exactly why you're closing us down?" She asked, her green eyes narrowing.

"Not permanently. Just until we can get this investigation under control." Will explained as he motioned for some of the officers to come further into the bakery.

"What investigation? I don't understand why you feel the need to investigate our bakery." Rachel frowned.

"Both murders have been tied around this area," Brittany explained, stepping forward out of the crowd. "What we're trying to figure out is why. It's obvious the killer had some type of motive for using this area, and your bakery is right in the middle."

Quinn scoffed and crossed her arms over chest. "So you think we're murderers?"

"Honestly?" Brittany raised a brow, "No, I don't. But that doesn't mean we don't want to question you."

Quinn scowled, "Do we even get a say in this?" She huffed.

"No, not really." Puck shrugged, and pointed towards the door. "Let's go ladies. Just a few questions and then we'll release you."

Rachel placed her hands in her hips and pursed her lips. "This is outrageous. I have two gay dads, and doing this to me could be considered a hate crime. See, I don't know if you're aware but-"

"Shut up, Rachel." Quinn rolled her eyes, before following Puck out of the building. Rachel huffed, before reluctantly following.

"I'm gonna go find Ms. Lopez." Brittany informed Will, before making her way to the back where Santana disappeared to a few minutes ago. Brittany's eyes wandered around the small but neat room, until they landed on a pair of brown eyes staring back at her.

"What do you want?" Santana sighed, tucking her phone back in the pocket of her jeans.

Brittany slowly approached the Latina, and took a seat beside her on the small bench. "To see if you were ok." She replied honestly.

Santana tilted her head and squinted her eyes. "Why?"

"That's what friends do." Brittany shrugged, as if stating the obvious.

A small smile graced Santana's lips and she nodded. "Oh, so we're friends now?" She chuckled, running her fingers through her dark locks.

"Duh," Brittany smiled back. "But in all seriousness, I do need to take you down to the station for a little while."

The smile instantly fell from Santana's lips and she furrowed her brows. "I didn't do anything." She snapped angrily, standing up to move away from the blonde.

"I know you didn't." Brittany said softly, mimicking the Latina's actions. "Schuester just wants to ask you a few questions, and then you can go home."

Santana eyed the blonde skeptically. "Just a few?" She asked, cocking a brow.

"Just a few." Brittany confirmed with a small nod.

"Ok..." Santana sighed, letting her arms fall at her sides.

"Hey," Brittany's calm voice soother the Latina. "It'll be fine, I promise. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I'm serious, Santana."

Santana saw nothing but honesty in the blonde's clear blue eyes, and nodded. "Thank you, Brittany." She smiled, before heading towards the door.

"Wait!" Brittany stopped her, right as she reached out to push the door. "Here." Brittany smiled, handing Santana a small piece of paper.

Santana frowned at the object and met the blonde's eyes. "What is it?"

Brittany chuckled. "Open it and see." She shrugged, before following the officers out of the building.

Santana bit her lip and slowly unfolded the paper, her eyes widening at what was inside.

Brittany's number.

...

Later that night, Santana and Rachel sat at their dining room table while Quinn finished up dinner. There main conversation was focused on the day's earlier events.

"I can't believe you punched Officer Schuester in the face." Quinn chuckled, setting a plate of food in front of the Latina.

"He shouldn't have spit in my damn face." Santana rolled her eyes, before taking a bite of her grilled squash. "I don't know who the hell he thinks he is."

"That was extremely risky on your part, Santana. You should be extremely grateful that Brittany was able to talk him out of pressing charges." Rachel sighed, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Hey, I gave him a fair warning." Santana pointed out, glancing between both women.

"Santana, you said _if you don't back up out of my face in the next few seconds Snixx and I_ _will show you how it's done in Lima Heights_." Quinn laughed.

Santana shrugged as a smirk graced her lips. "Like I said, I warned him."

"It was really nice of Brittany to defend you. What's going on with you two?" Quinn asked curiously, raising a brow as she leaned forward in her chair.

"Britt and I are just friends." Santana said quickly.

"Britt, huh?" Quinn smirked.

Santana narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Yeah, Britt. Is something wrong with calling her that?" She said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Whoa, calm down. It was just a question." Quinn chuckled, enjoying seeing her best friend so flustered.

"Whatever." Santana grumbled, setting her plate in the sink and storming off to her bedroom.

Quinn and Rachel exchanged a knowing glance and smiled. "Santana has a crush." They both sang at the top of their lungs, before falling over in a fit of laughter.

"I do not!" Came the muffled response from the Latina's room.

...

**3pm the next day **

"Good afternoon, Santana. How are you?" The therapist smiled, crossing her legs. Quinn and Rachel had finally convinced her to go to the therapy session they had scheduled for her, after a lot of convincing and promises of free alcohol. Santana was less than thrilled about it, but reluctantly agreed.

"I'm ok." Santana shrugged, unconsciously wringing her wrists.

The therapist noticed the nervous tick and took note of it. "Just ok?" She asked, slightly leaning forward in her chair.

Santana bit her lip and shrugged again.

The therapist nodded. "Have you been getting a healthy amount of sleep, Santana? You look tired."

"I'm fine," Santana snapped. "Sorry." She added quietly. "No, I haven't been sleeping much lately."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know," The Latina sighed. "I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Would you care to elaborate on that?" The therapist asked, before continuing to scribble down in her notebook.

"There's so much shit going on right now. My business could be taken away at any moment, and then I won't be able to pay for my apartment, so I'll have nowhere to go." Santana rambled out.

"Ok." The therapist nodded, jotting down a few more notes. "Do you have a parent that could possibly help you out?"

"No," Santana said quickly, shaking her head. "I don't."

"Are your parents still alive?"

"I don't want to talk about them right now." Santana frowned. "This isn't about them."

"Yes, but it's obvious that there is some type of connection there with your sleeping problems, that is related to your parents."

"I-" Santana squeezed her eyes shut tightly and let out a shaky breath. "I don't have the best relationship with them." She admitted quietly.

"Did something happen?" The therapist asked, momentarily setting her notebook down to grab a different pen.

Santana nodded slowly. "A few things happened. My senior year of high school." She said, averting her gaze to the floor.

"I think there's something deeper that you aren't telling me, and that's fine. This is only the first session, you'll progress as we go on." The therapist smiled, and flipped to another page in her book. "I'm going to schedule you for an appointment every Tuesday for the next few weeks, and we'll take it from there. Sound good?"

Santana bit her lip and exhaled slowly. "Ok." She agreed, taking the slip of paper from the woman.

"I'll see you next week, Santana. Have a good day."

Santana smiled weakly, before sliding off of the couch and walked out of the office. She was so lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed climbing into Quinn's car.

The two of them stayed silent as the blonde pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic. Five minutes in, Quinn couldn't take the silence and decided to break it.

"So...how was it?" Quinn asked, glancing at the Latina before focusing back on the road.

Santana shrugged. "All I want to do is get home and crawl into my bed."

Quinn smiled sympathetically. "Well you're in luck, because that's exactly what I want you to do. I know you're probably emotionally drained, you look like shit."

Santana mumbled something along the lines of great and Quinn chuckled. "You know I love you, right?"

Santana rolled her eyes and leaned back against her seat. "Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Q."

"And I only want what's best for you." The blonde continued.

"I know, Q. Really, I do. But I really don't want to talk about it right now." Santana said softy, holding Quinn's gaze for a few seconds before breaking it.

"Ok," Quinn sighed. "Can you at least tell me if you're going back for a second session?"

Santana nodded. "Every Tuesday for the next few weeks." She informed her, before closing her eyes.

"Shit, really? That's amazing Santana!" Quinn exclaimed, startling the Latina. "Sorry." She apologized, turning her attention back on the road.

"I guess it wasn't that bad because we didn't really get into anything today. I know it'll get harder once the questions become more personal." Santana murmured honestly, staring out the window.

Quinn nodded. "So, you didn't talk about your dad?"

"No."

"Ok." Quinn bit her lip. "Just know that Rachel and I are here, whenever you need us."

"I know."

...

"Whoa, Britt, I haven't seen you in ages."

"It's only been a few weeks Finn." Brittany laughed, taking a seat beside Mike on the couch.

Finn smiled and shrugged. "I know, but you're always working. We're not important enough for you, huh?"

"That's not true. Work's just been hectic lately." Brittany sighed, before taking a long drink of her beer.

"Catch any bad guys lately?" Tina asked, setting the bottle of cheap wine that she had bought from the corner store down the street, on the coffee table.

"Not the ones we're looking for." Brittany shook her head. "But enough about work, let's talk about something else. How's your dance studio coming along Mike?"

Mike smiled. "It's going great Britt. Would be better if I had a certain blonde dancer there to help teach..." He trailed off and looking at the blonde knowingly.

"Nope." Brittany shook her head. "I haven't danced in years."

"Which is exactly why you should help Mike out!" Tina exclaimed, after taking a sip of her wine. "Come on B, dancing was your passion."

"Exactly, _was_." Brittany sighed. "Not anymore."

"Britt," Tina started gently, placing her hand on the blonde's arm, "It's been 8 years."

"Not everything has to do with my sister's death, Tina." Brittany snapped, before biting her lip apologetically. "Sorry."

"No, no it's fine. I shouldn't push you to anything you don't want to." Tina smiled, before pulling her hand back.

"I just- I can't." Brittany shook her had sadly.

"Who knows, maybe one day you'll be on that stage dancing your amazing ass off again." Mike shrugged, earning a smack on the arm from Tina.

"You think I have a perfect ass?" Brittany smirked, raising a brow in amusement.

"Uh-no, I- um." Mike stuttered. "I love you, honey." He quickly said, looking at Tina.

"Mhmm." Tina rolled her eyes, playfully shoving her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Oh! Guys, guess what?" Finn smiled, looking between his three friends who were now staring back at him.

"What?" Tina and Brittany replied in unison, then Mike who fell behind a few seconds.

"I'm taking a girl out tonight." He said proudly.

"That's awesome Finn." Brittany smiled, "Who is she?"

"I met her at a club a few nights ago. Maybe you'll meet her sometime if everything goes well."

"Congrats bro," Mike fist-bumped Finn, before wrapping his arm around his girlfriend.

Finn nodded and took a sip of his beer. "Thanks man."

"Hey Britt, can you help get dinner ready?" Tina asked suddenly, moving out of Mike's embrace.

"But we ordered-" Brittany started, before Tina cut her off.

"Awesome, thanks." She smiled, grabbing the blonde's arm and quickly dragging her into the kitchen.

"What the hell?" Brittany frowned, wriggling her arm out of the shorter woman's grip.

"I want all the details." Tina exclaimed, hopping up on the counter.

Brittany cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brows. "To what?" She asked, clearly confused.

"Santana!" Tina stated, as if it was obvious.

Brittany rolled her eyes and leaned back against the counter opposite of the one Tina was sitting on. "Nothing is going on between me and Santana."

"Oh, bullshit." Tina laughed. "I saw the way your eyes lit up when you were talking about her earlier."

"They were not." Brittany grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"They were." Tina smirked, and slid down. "Go after her Britt, you said yourself she was single."

"I said I _think_."

Tina waved her hand in the air, brushing off the statement. "Same thing. Clearly you like her, even though I have to meet her before you can go on your first date, so ask her out."

Brittany shook her head. "It's not that simple."

"It kinda is." Tina shrugged, "Grow some lady balls and go after your girl. I better be your maid of honor at the wedding!" She called over her shoulder, before leaving the room.

"Tina!"

...

**8pm**

"Why are you so dressed up Berry?" Santana frowned, looking down at her own outfit, which was a tank top and some old Cheerios shorts.

"If you wish to know Santana, I have a date with someone." Rachel said proudly, smoothing out her fitted black dress.

"Huh, well look at that. Even hobbits can find love." Santana smiled sweetly.

Rachel rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse off of the coffee table. "As much as I enjoy your clever insults, if I don't leave now I'll be late."

"Who is this guy and why haven't I met him yet?" The Latina narrowed her eyes and pulled herself off of the couch.

"His name is Finn. I met him at one of those clubs Quinn took me to a few nights ago." Rachel smiled, her eyes sparkling as she went on and on about their little encounter.

Santana nodded thoughtfully and patted the small woman's shoulder. "Well Berry, I must say that if he could possibly find you attractive when you were most likely wasted, then he's a keeper."

"Thank you, Santana. I'm pretty sure that's the nicest thing you've said to me all day." Rachel smiled widely, wrapping her arms around Santana's neck, catching her off guard.

"Whoa Berry, I don't hug." Santana grimaced, attempting to loosen Rachel's grip.

Rachel just hummed and squeezed her arms tighter. "Shut up and hug me back."

Santana rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged her lips as she reluctantly wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist.

"See, isn't this nice?"

"Just shut up and hug me."

After the hug broke, Santana resumed her spot on the couch while Rachel stood above her, looking down. Santana looked up and frowned when she met Rachel's curious eyes. "What?" She mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tell me about you and Brittany." Rachel demanded, placing her hands on her hips.

The Latina rolled her eyes and grabbed the remote from the table. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Rachel shrugged. "He can wait. This is important."

"Nothing is going on between me and Brittany. Why does everyone assume I'm screwing her?" Santana snapped.

"I never said anything about that, Santana. But I see the way you two are together." Rachel said softly, taking a seat beside the Latina. "When you're riled up, usually Quinn's the only one who can calm you down."

Santana sighed and leaned back, resting her head on the couch cushion. "Brittany's...different."

"Different how?" Rachel asked, tilting her head to the side.

Santana bit her lip and furrowed her brows in thought. "I don't know, I've actually gotten to know her instead of just having a one night stand and leaving the next morning."

"Awww, you do like her." Rachel cooed, clasping her hands together happily.

"Shut it, Berry." Santana warned, narrowing her eyes.

"You're blushing!" Rachel squealed, bouncing excitedly in her spot.

"Rachel." Santana whined as she buried her face in her hands.

"Ok, ok, I'll leave you alone because I really have to leave now. But will you at least tell me if you like her?" Rachel asked, giving the Latina her best puppy dog face.

Santana rolled her eyes. "That's confidential information, Berry, that doesn't concern you."

"Ok, Santana." Rachel winked, before hopping off the couch and leaving the apartment.

"Damn Berry." She grumbled, before snuggling further into the couch.

"What did Rachel do now?" Quinn laughed, walking in the front door.  
"I just saw her leaving and she was all giddy and excited, more than usual. Did she find her Barbra t-shirt that supposedly went missing last week?"

Santana lifted her head from the couch cushion and shrugged. "Yeah, let's go with that."

...

A few days later, Santana sat on the couch, mindlessly flipping through channels while waiting for her pizza to arrive. For once, she had the apartment all to herself, with Rachel out with Finn and Quinn at work, and shockingly she missed them.

"I need someone to hang out with." Santana sighed to herself, reaching over to grab her phone off of the edge of the couch and began scrolling through her contacts.

Twenty-five minutes later, Santana smiled when she heard the doorbell ring, and scrambled off of the couch to answer it.

"Hi." Brittany smiled shyly, shifting from one foot to the other in the doorway.

"Hey." Santana returned the smile. "Oh! Come in," She moved out of the way, allowing the blonde to walk fully into the apartment.

Brittany laughed and set her bag down on one of the chairs in the living room. "What's that smell?" She asked, scrunching up her nose which made her look adorable in Santana's opinion.

"Oh, I'm making some easy mac to go with the pizza I ordered." Santana shrugged. "Which still isn't here, by the way."

"How'd you know I love easy mac?" Brittany teased, playfully hitting the Latina on the arm.

"Hmm, lucky guess?" Santana smirked, "Oh, and I ordered pepperoni and cheese, is that ok?"

Brittany smiled. "It's perfect. I love pepperoni."

Santana smiled back. "Well that's a relief, I wouldn't have wanted you to starve." She

"I would've eaten it anyways." Brittany shrugged. "I wouldn't want to waste your food."

"You wouldn't be wasting it. I used Quinn's card to pay for it anyways."

Brittany laughed and shook her head. "I don't think she'll appreciate that."

"She'll be fine, trust me." Santana winked, just as someone knocked on the door. "I'm sure that's the pizza, and they better not charge me a damn cent for the time it took."

One and a half boxes and two bowls of mac&cheese later, Santana and Brittany sat sprawled out on the couch, while watching old episodes of_ Wife Swap_.

"I never understood how someone could just leave their family and stay with people they've never met before." Santana scrunched up her nose and shook her head disapprovingly.

Brittany chuckled and rested her head against the back of the couch. "I think it would be exciting. I'd probably do it if they asked me to." She shrugged.

Santana looked at her with wide eyes and frowned. "Britt, they could be serial killers."

"You could be a serial killer too, but I'm here with you." She pointed out, only half joking, considering the situations they've dealt with recently. Santana laughed, crinkling the corners of her eyes, completely unaware of the blonde's eyes on her.

Once Santana's laughter had died down, she turned her head to meet Brittany's eyes, which gazing downward at a certain area on the Latina's face. Santana unconsciously wet her lips with her tongue, momentarily knocking Brittany out of her daze as she looked up to meet the dark orbs staring back at her.

Brittany slowly leaned in, her eyes glancing down at the Latina's plump lips, and she continued to inch closer, making Santana's breath hitch.

When they were only millimeters apart, Santana parted her lips and her eyes fluttered shut, right as Brittany stopped abruptly and shook her head.

"I can't." Brittany whispered against her lips, before jumping off the couch and quickly leaving the apartment.

...

**So there's a little insight on Santana's past, there will be more as the story goes on.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: ****Shorter chapter...sorry. This one isn't very angst-filled, but you know, it's always the calm before the storm.**

**Also, I try to respond to all reviews and PMs, so if you have any questions go ahead and leave them. :)**

**...**

"Santana! Santana open up, you can't keep yourself locked in there forever," Quinn yelled, continuing to bang on the Latina's bedroom door. Ever since Brittany had abruptly left after their almost-kiss four days ago, Santana hadn't left her room unless it was completely necessary.

"Go away Q," Santana grumbled, burying herself further into the large pile of pillows on her bed.

"No, this is getting ridiculous. We have a meeting to get to today about the bakery, so you need to get your ass up and put your pride aside for a few hours." Quinn snapped, giving one last bang to the door, before turning around and leaving.

Santana groaned and soaked in her sorrow for a few more moments, before reluctantly pulling herself out of bed. She opened her curtains and growled at the brightness that immediately poured through the large windows.

"Fucking sun," She mumbled, blinking her eyes to let them recover from the unexpected light. "All bright and happy and shit."

"Ha!" Quinn smiled triumphantly when the door flew open, holding a bobby pin pinched between her fingers. "I still got it."

"What the hell?" Santana snapped, throwing one of the discarded clothing items that was lying on the floor at the blonde's head.

Quinn gracefully dodged the sweatshirt and walked directly to the Latina, "You have about three seconds to tell me what the hell is going on with you before I kick your ass." She spat back, pursing her lips and placing her hands on her hips.

"I don't have to tell you shit." Santana rolled her eyes and fell back onto her bed. Quinn narrowed her eyes at Santana, before storming over to her bed, wrapping her fingers around the Latina's wrist, and dragging her out of the room.

"What the fuck, Q?" Santana hissed out, attempting to get out of the blonde's grasp.

Quinn tightened her hold, and lead them both over to the living room area, throwing Santana down on the couch and towered over her. "You're not leaving this spot until you decide to stop being a stubborn bitch and tell me what's going on." She snapped, matching the Latina's glare.

Santana closed her eyes and sighed, then leaned back against the couch, "Brittany was here a few days ago." She said quietly, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Ok..." Quinn dragged out, and took a seat beside the brunette, "Did something happen?"

"She came over, I ordered pizza, and we just hung out. I swear it's amazing because it was so natural, like we did that type of thing all the time." Santana frowned, glancing at Quinn who was staring at her intently. "Did you ever have those moments with Andrew, when you'd look at each other and it felt like nothing else mattered?"

Quinn slowly nodded, and Santana continued. "That's exactly how it felt with Brittany."

"What happened after that?" The blonde asked, tilting her head to the side as she eyed the Latina curiously.

"She leaned in first, and then-"

"You kissed?!" Quinn shrieked, practically falling off of the couch in the process.

"No," Santana rolled her eyes, "We _almost_ kissed. She left before it happened."

Quinn's mouth fell open and she widened her eyes. "Wait, what?"

"She fucking left. Without any type of reason." Santana spat angrily, unconsciously wringing her wrists.

Quinn reached over to still the Latina's hands. "Maybe she had a good reason?" She suggested, running the pad of her thumb over Santana's knuckles.

Santana scoffed and shook her head, "If she did, she would've called by now. It's been four fucking days, she's made it clear that she doesn't think of me that way."

"You don't know that, Santana. Why haven't you called her?" The blonde asked gently.

Santana yanked her hands away and quickly stood up, "It's not my place to. If she cared enough, she would've called." She shrugged.

"That's not fair, maybe something's going on with her." Quinn said softly, careful to not upset the Latina.

"Bullshit."

Quinn pulled her hands away and rested them on her thighs. "No, seriously. You don't know what's been going on because you haven't taken the time to call her. You're so damn stubborn, quit acting like sixteen year old Santana and handle this situation like an adult."

"Who's side are you on, Quinn?" Santana crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"No one's." The blonde said simply, ignoring Santana'a death glare burning through the top of her head.

Santana rolled her eyes and dropped her arms. "Whatever. If I wanted to hear this shit I'd go to my therapist." She snapped, before leaving the living room and returning to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

...

Brittany tightened her cardigan against her body as she walked down the crowded streets of New York. Today was one of the rare days she had off, and she planned on enjoying it as much as she could, even though she couldn't keep her mind off of a certain event that took place a few days ago.

Brittany sighed, and decided to stop at the nearest Starbucks a few blocks away to warm herself up. Walking into the crowded coffee shop, the blonde felt a faint smile tug her lips. Coffee shops had always been nostalgic to Brittany, her and her sister would always stop at one every morning before school.

"Brittany, is that you?" The blonde slowly turned around and met the owner of the voice, her face dropping slightly.

"Rachel, hi." Brittany forced a smile and moved a step further in line.

Rachel cocked her head to the side and tightened her hold on the coffee in her hand. She must've noticed the blonde on her way out. "How have you been?"

"I've been ok." Brittany said casually, folding her arms over her chest.

Rachel nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "Just ok?" She pressed, arching a brow.

"I-"

"Next!"

Brittany gave the smaller woman an apologetic smile, before making her way up to the register and giving the guy in his mid-thirties her coffee order.

"I know something's going on between you and Santana." Rachel stated, narrowing her eyes at the blonde.

Brittany's head snapped around and she frowned. "W-what?" She shook her head, "Nothing's going on between us."

"Oh please," Rachel rolled her eyes, "You must've forgotten that I'm one of her best friends. And you're the reason she's been rotting away in her bedroom for the past four days."

"She what?" Brittany asked, her eyes softening.

Rachel sighed and motioned towards one of the empty booths. Brittany nodded in understanding and grabbed her coffee off of the counter, then followed the brunette to the opposite, less crowded area of the shop.

"Whatever happened between the two of you has put her in a very unpleasant funk. I would beat you up right now if I had no self respect. Also if you weren't a cop." She shrugged, and clasped her hands together on the table.

Brittany raised a brow, "Rachel, I could snap you like a twig." She pointed out, pulling her fishtail braid over her shoulder.

"Perhaps so. But I would like to inform you that I had six years of Tai Kwon Do, and I could very well put my skills to good use." Rachel huffed, tilting her nose in the air.

"Ok..." Brittany looked out the large window beside them and took a long drink of her coffee.

"Brittany," Rachel said in a softer tone, "Please fix this. I never thought I'd see the day where I'd miss Santana's snarky and rude comments, but I do. Maybe if you'd just talk to her, I could help." She suggested.

Brittany sighed and shook her head. "I doubt she'd want to speak to me." She admitted quietly, avoiding the brunette'a gaze.

"You never know until you try," Rachel smiled softly and gave the blonde's hand a gentle squeeze, before sliding out of the booth and walking away, leaving Brittany stuck in her thoughts.

...

After leaving the coffee shop, Brittany headed home immediately to talk to the one person that always had an answer to her problems.

Luckily, the apartment was completely empty since Tina was still at work, which meant Brittany wouldn't have any interruptions. She plugged her laptop up and set it on her bed, immediately logging into Skype and dialing the number.

"_Hola, chica!_" Holly Holliday smiled through the webcam, setting the small kitten in her arms on the floor.

"Hey Holly." Brittany smiled back, laying flat on her stomach. Holly had always been someone close to Brittany ever since she was younger, her parents and the older blonde had always been good friends since high school.

Holly squinted and leaned closer to the screen. "_What's got you down sister? You look_ _worse than that old guy I had a one night stand with last week_."

"I know," Brittany sighed, toying with a loose strand of blonde hair. "It's complicated."

"_Girl troubles, huh?_" Holly smirked, cocking her head to the side.

Brittany chuckled and nodded, "How'd you know?"

"_Well, I know for sure some guy doesn't have you thinking this hard. They're too_ _easy_." Holly shrugged, before taking a sip from the wine bottle next to her.

Brittany laughed, "That's true. This girl does have me thinking pretty hard."

"_What's her name_?" Holly pressed on, propping her head up with her hand.

"Santana." The word tumbled from the blonde's lips so effortlessly, that it made Holly smile.

"_Santana_," Holly repeated, testing out the name in different accents. "_That's a hot name, which means this Santana must be a good one._"

"Holly!"

"_Sorry kiddo, I call 'em as I see 'em_." Holly winked, before continuing. "_What's going on between the two of you anyways?_"

"Honestly? I have no idea." Brittany said softly, "I think the feeling may be mutual though." She quickly added.

"_Then what are you so scared of, Britt_?"

"I just haven't been in a real relationship since, well you know." Brittany frowned and stared at her hands, "I'm just not the relationship type."

"_Do you think there could be a potential relationship with Santana_?" Holly asked, staring at the younger blonde knowingly.

"I really don't know." Brittany admitted, looking back to the screen.

"_Well, I saw screw everything else and go after this smoking hot woman before it's too_ _late_." Holly winked, before signing off.

She did have a point.

...

**Two hours later**

"Quinn, you have about ten seconds before I get out of this bed and introduce you to Snixx." Santana snapped, silencing the knocking on her door.

"Um, actually," Santana's eyes popped open at the familiar voice, "It's not Quinn."

The Latina quickly hopped out of her bed and made her way over to the door, biting her lip as she stood in front of it. "Brittany?" She called quietly, unsure how to feel about the blonde being in her apartment.

Brittany nodded, before realizing Santana couldn't see her. "Um...yeah." She cleared her throat, "It's me, Santana."

"What do you want?" Santana asked tiredly, resting her forehead against the door.

"We need to talk." Brittany said in a timid voice, ghosting her fingers over the doorknob, as if it would magically open any second.

"Brittany..."

"San, please." Santana sighed but reluctantly unlocked and opened her door, revealing a very nervous looking Brittany.

"Hey." Brittany smiled, taking a step closer towards the Latina, "Can I come in?"

Santana glanced back over her shoulder, looking into what wasn't only a dimly lit bedroom, but also her sacred space. "Let's go in the kitchen." She decided on, pulling the door shut behind her.

"Ok." Brittany shrugged, following the brunette across the spacious apartment.

Once they were in the kitchen, Santana began fixing herself a cup of coffee and glanced at Brittany over her shoulder, "Do you want some?" She asked, attempting to be polite.

"At three in the afternoon?" Brittany chuckled and shook her head, "No thanks."

Santana's brows shot up in surprise. "It's three in the afternoon?"

"Yep. If you hadn't slept all day, you would know." Brittany teased, not noticing the slight hurt that flashed across the Latina's face.

"Yeah, well." Santana shrugged and stared into her coffee.

The two sat in silence, both feeling the tension in the room. Brittany shifted uncomfortable in her chair and cleared her throat. "Um, so can we talk?" She asked, her breath hitching slightly when she saw the sadness in Santana's dark brown eyes.

"Why'd you do that to me Brittany?" Santana said softly, tapping her fingers against the surface of the counter, "You just left, without saying anything. Do you know how humiliating that was?"

"I-"

"No you don't." Santana frowned, turning her back to the blonde, "You never called or texted me to explain. That's all I wanted, an explanation. If you don't like me then you should've just said so." She snapped, ignoring the tears welling up in her eyes.

"But Santana, I do like you."

Santana whirled her head around and stared at Brittany with wide eyes. "You-what?"

"I said, I do like you." Brittany repeated, sliding out of her chair, "I like you. A lot." She admitted, taking a step closer to the Latina.

Santana stood completely frozen, still in some type of shock. She saw the blonde's lips moving, but heard no words coming out after _I like you_. She stayed that way until she felt a warm hand on her forearm, and looked up, immediately meeting bright blue eyes. "What?" She asked, blinking a few times, trying to focus on what was coming out of Brittany's mouth.

Brittany smiled shyly Santana, before repeating what she had said. "I was wondering if you had any plans Friday night?"

"Why?" Santana managed to sqeak out, even though she knew the reason.

"Because," Brittany took a deep breath and looked into dark mocha eyes, "I really, really would like to take you out on a date, Santana." She bit her lip and searched the Latina's face for an answer.

Santana let out a long exhale and took a step away from the blonde, causing their skin on skin contact to break. "Brittany..."

**...**

**I wonder what Santana will say? Hmm...**


	7. Chapter 7

_"Because," Brittany took a deep breath and looked into dark mocha eyes, "I really, really would like to take you out on a date, Santana." She bit her lip and searched the Latina's face for an answer._

_Santana let out a long exhale and took a step away from the blonde, causing their skin on skin contact to break. "Brittany..."_

"I-I can't." Santana said apologetically, looking down to avoid seeing the disappointment on the blonde's face. "I'm sorry."

"What? Why?" Brittany frowned, taking a step away from the Latina. "Weren't we just admitting how much we like each other a few seconds ago?"

Santana sighed and shook her head. "Brittany, I'm so fucked up. You don't want to deal with this, trust me."

"Aren't we all a little fucked up?" Brittany asked seriously, earning a small smile from Santana, that had disappeared as quickly as it had shown up. "I'm probably just as messed up as you, if not more. I should be the one warning you about me."

"What happened to you?" Santana asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. "Your past, I mean. You mentioned something about it that day in the park." She furrowed her brows in thought. "Did something happen?"

"It doesn't matter." Brittany shook her head. "You know what, this was stupid. I'm sorry." She sighed and went to leave the kitchen, but Santana stopped her.

"It's not stupid, Brittany." She said softly, "_You're_ not stupid."

"I _am_ stupid, because I didn't once think about what I could be getting you into." Brittany bit her lip and shook her head repeatedly, "You have no idea how dangerous my job can be, Santana. How much danger I could be putting you in if we were together."

"Brittany, you can't keep me from liking you. It's too late for that."

"You barely know me." Brittany responded with an arched brow.

"I know enough to have developed feelings for you. You know, I've never had _these_ type of feelings for someone I just met not that long ago, and that scares the shit out of me." The Latina admitted, "But I'm willing to put my heart on the line for you. It's crazy, isn't it? How fast the positions can change between the two of us."

Brittany stared into dark brown eyes with disbelief. "Why would you want to put yourself through this?"

"Because there's something about you, the way your eyes sparkle when you're happy. Or they way you furrow your brows and bite your lip when you're thinking hard about something." Santana brought her left hand up to cup Brittany's face. "You're amazing, Brittany. And I know that I can break down those walls eventually, if you let me."

Brittany slowly pulled away and ran her fingers through her hair, "I need to leave."

Santana's face went from soft to pissed in a matter of seconds and she clenched her jaw, "Are you fucking kidding me?" She snapped.

"No I'm not." Brittany cocked a brow with amusement, "I need to leave, so I can get home and start planning our date Friday."

"I can't believe you're just going to- wait, you what?" Santana stopped mid-rant, and stared at the blonde.

"Our date Friday." Brittany repeated with the biggest smile Santana's ever seen.

"Our date." Santana grinned back, "That sounds really good."

"It does, doesn't it?" Brittany agreed, brushing her fingers over the top of the Latina's collarbone.

Santana's breath hitched and she nodded. "Yeah. It does." She breathed out as she gazed into the blonde's eyes, "I really want to kiss you right now." She admitted.

Brittany bit her lip and leaned down to place a soft kiss on the Latina's forehead, "I don't kiss before the first date." She whispered with a small smile.

"Well aren't you a gentlewoman." Santana rolled her eyes and chuckled, "You didn't seem to have a problem with the idea a few days ago." She pointed out.

"In my defense, I was lost in the moment." Brittany shrugged and grinned down at the Latina, "I really do need to head home though, Tina's probably wondering where I've been."

"Yeah, you should probably get out of here before Quinn and Rachel get home. I'm pretty sure Rachel was trying to hunt you down earlier." Santana laughed while walking Brittany to the front door.

Brittany chuckled. "Well, she was successful." She smirked, enjoying the bewildered expression on the Latina's face.

"Are you serious?" Santana's eyes widened, "I'm going to kill her. Damn Berry." She hissed out and folded her arms over her chest.

"No, no, it was sweet, how protective she is of you. Hell, I don't blame her, I would be too." Brittany admitted, toying with a strand of the Latina's hair. "But I do want you to know that I would never intentionally hurt you, Santana."

"I'll keep that in mind." Santana said softly and quickly pecked the blonde's cheek. "Have a good day, Brittany."

Brittany blushed, "You too, Santana." She smiled, before turning to leave the apartment.

...

**Later that night**

"Brittany Susan Pierce, what part of I have to meet her first before you go on a date do you not understand?!" Tina scowled, pacing back and forth in front of the blonde.

"Tina, calm down." Brittany chuckled, "I'm twenty-six years old. I think I can take care of myself."

"I have to approve of her first, though!" Tina exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips.

Mike cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck, "Babe, maybe you should calm down a lit-"

"Michael Chang Jr. this does not involve you!" Tina snapped.

Mike took a few steps away and looked between both women. "I'll be in the kitchen." He said, before quickly leaving the room.

"See! You even scared your boyfriend away, there is no way I'm letting you do the same to Santana." Brittany shook her head, and quickly doged the pillow that Tina threw in her direction. "Tina!" She yelled.

"I'm the one that pushed you to go after her, the least you could do is let me meet the girl." Tina crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, "You're my best friend and I need to see what her intentions are."

"Tinnaaaa," Brittany groaned and buried her face in her hands, "You can meet her sometime _after_ our date."

"Britt." Tina whined, "I promise I'll be nice. Come on."

"How about next weekend, me, you, Mike, and Finn can hang out with Santana, Rachel, and Quinn. That way, we can all get to know each other together and then everyone's happy." Brittany suggested, attempting to make a compromise.

Tina was silent for a few moments and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Fine. But I get at least ten minutes to interrogate her."

Brittany laughed, "You don't even know how to interrogate." She pointed out.

Tina shrugged, "You can teach me. You're like a pro, right?"

"You want _me_ to teach _you_ how to interrogate my date?" The blonde shook her head, "You are something else, Tina Cohen-Chang."

"Hopefully a good something?" Tina grinned and Brittany just rolled her eyes.

"Hmm, it depends on the day." Brittany smirked.

Tina playfully smacked the blonde's arm and feigned hurt. "Ouch B, I thought we had something special."

"Watch out, Mike might get jealous." Brittany teased.

Tina chuckled pulled Brittany off of the couch. "Come on, let's make dinner before Mike burns down the apartment."

"Can you make those awesome sausage balls you made on New Year's Eve?" Brittany asked, licking her lips at the thought.

"Sure, Britt." Tina smiled, following the blonde into the kitchen.

...

"Oh my god!" Quinn squealed, throwing her arms around Santana's neck and bounced up and down. "Oh my god!"

"What's wrong?" Rachel yelled, running into Santana's bedroom with a dustpan in her hand.

"Santana's- why do you have a dustpan?" Quinn tilted her head to the side and squinted at the object the smaller woman was holding.

"I thought someone was being murdered!" Rachel said defensively, setting the dustpan down by the door.

"And you thought you could stop a murderer with that?" Santana snickered.

"Shut up." Rachel rolled her eyes, "Now fill me in on what happened." She said, hopping on Santana's bed and making herself comfortable.

"Santana's going on a date with Brittany!" Quinn exclaimed, grinning so big that her face could've split in half.

Rachel hummed in approval. "Oh, so that must've been why you were less of a bitch today."

"Watch it Berry." Santana glared, before turning back to Quinn, who was still wearing that shit-eating grin. "Q, you need to chill the fuck out. You act like I've never been on a date before."

"Because those dates usually end in you getting laid and never seeing those girls again." Quinn pointed out with an arched brow.

Santana just rolled her eyes and took a spot beside Rachel. "Whatever." She grumbled.

"Our little Sanny's growing up." Rachel cooed, leaning into Santana's side, and smlied when the Latina made no attempt to move her.

"I might cry." Quinn sniffled and pretend to overly-dramatic wipe her eyes of any non-existent tears. "Who would've saw the day where Santana found someone she didn't want to screw and leave."

"Excuse me, I'm still in the room." Santana snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh come on, you haven't had a _real_ girlfriend since you were twenty-two." The blonde pointed out._  
_

Santana narrowed her eyes at Quinn and rested her head on Rachel's shoulder. "So what? You haven't been in a relationship in awhile either, Q."

"Because I haven't found anyone," She shrugged, "But you have, so like I said before, I will be the maid of honor at your wedding."

"What? No, I am." Rachel protested, shaking her head.

Quinn scoffed, "Rachel please, we hated you in high school. Those were the glory days, and I was San's bestfriend, so I deserve the spot."

"With all due respect Quinn, I-" Rachel started, but was quickly shut down by Santana.

"Both of you shut the hell up, no one said anything about a wedding." Santana hissed out, smacking both of them on the arm.

"Ouch!" Quinn whined, rubbing the slightly red spot on her forearm.

"Santana, that was incredibly rude." Rachel huffed, moving off of the bed. "I'm gong to order a pizza, what do you guys want on it?"

"It doesn't matter." Quinn shrugged and glanced at Santana who had said the same thing.

"Ok." Rachel pulled out her phone and left the room.

Once Rachel was gone, Quinn decided to bring up part of their earlier conversation, "So...maid of honor-"

"Don't start with me, Fabray." Santana warned, raising a brow.

"Can you at least confirm that I'll be the godmother of your future Brittana baby?"

"Quinn!"

...

The next few days went by in a blur for Santana and Brittany, impatiently waiting for Friday to arrive. Santana had went through at least fifteen outfits, and Brittany had kept changing their plans for the evening.

Once 8pm on Friday finally rolled around, Santana stood in front of her full length mirror, checking her outfit one last time. Brittany had told her to dress casually, but Santana casual and Brittany casual were most likely not the same thing, so she had to get a little help from Quinn.

_"I don't know what to wear, Q." Santana whined, wearing nothing but a bra and underwear. "Britt won't tell me where we're going." She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest._

_Quinn chuckled and rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "San, just dress casual."_

_"I don't know what that means!"_

_"Santana." Quinn sighed, walking into her walk-in closet to find the Latina an outfit. A few minutes later, she came out holding a sheer white top and simple black leggings. "Put this on." Quinn laid the clothing down on the bed._

_Santana nodded and quickly out on the clothes, then looked down to her bare feet. "Black pumps?" She asked Quinn while wiggling her toes._

_The blonde nodded. "Black pumps." She agreed._

_Santana disappeared into the closet, returning a few minutes later with her pumps now occupying her feet. She walked over to the blonde and smiled widely, wrapping her arms around her neck._

_"Thanks, Q." Santana whispered in her ear, before pulling away._

_"No problem. Have fun on your date. If you have sex, take it to her place because I don't want to hear it." Quinn winked, leaving a wide-eyed Santana standing in her room alone._

"Santana! Brittany's here!" Rachel called in a sing-song voice from the living room. Santana double-checked her makeup and hair, before nodding in approval and made her way down the hall and to the foyer. Santana's breath caught in her throat when her eyes scanned Brittany's body from the bottom of her heels to the top of her blonde head.

The blonde was wearing a tight pair of skinny jeans with a loose caramel top and black Louboutin heels. Her makeup was light and her hair was in long blonde waves that cascaded down her back.

"You look beautiful, Santana." Brittany smiled, taking a step closer towards the Latina.

Santana returned the smile and leaned forward to wrap her arms around the blonde's neck. "So do you Britt." She whispered. They stayed that way for a few more seconds until a bright flash went off, causing Santana to pull away and cover her eyes.

"What the hell?" She snapped, allowing her eyes to focus on Rachel standing in front of them while holding her iPhone.

"I wanted to document this moment for your wedding." Rachel smiled cheekily and slid her phone back into the pocket of her jeans.

"Oh god, let's go." Santana groaned and ignored the blush creeping on her face, quickly pulling Brittany out of the front door and slamming it behind them.

"Stop, B." Santana whined when Brittany broke out into a fit of laughter in the middle of the hallway.

Brittany shrugged as her laughter subsided. "It's like your parents taking a picture of you on your first date."

Santana tensed slightly at the word parents, but kept the small plastered on her face. "I don't really go on dates that often." She admitted.

"Why not?" Brittany frowned. Her eyes widened in realization when the Latina's face started to turn a dark shade of red, "Ohhhh."

"Anyways." Santana rolled her eyes and hit the button for the elevator, "Where are we headed, Ms. Pierce?"

Brittany wiggled her eyebrows and stepped inside of the elevator when it dinged. "It's a surprise."

Santana scowled and hit the button for the main floor. "Seriously Britt?"

"Seriously, San." Brittany chuckled and kissed the Latina's cheek. "Relax, I'm not taking you to some dark alley to murder you or anything."

"Hmm, well I never thought about that possibility until now." Santana grinned and followed the blonde out of the elevator. "Are we taking your car or walking?"

"Well, I don't have a car so I figured we could just walk. It's really nice outside tonight too." Brittany shrugged.

"Perfect." Santana smiled and looped her arm through Brittany's, "Lead the way Ms. Pierce."

Twenty minutes later, the two arrived at a small Chinese restaurant on the corner of a slightly-less busy street. Brittany opened the door for Santana, and they both walked inside.

"Brittany! So good to see you." An elderly Chinese man smiled widely, bringing the blonde in for a hug.

"You too, Mr. Chang." Brittany smiled once the embrace broke.

"And who is this lovely lady?" Mr. Chang asked, looking at Santana who was still standing a few feet away.

Brittany glanced at the Latina and reached out her hand, which Santana gladly took. "This is my date, Santana."

Mr. Chang's eyebrows shot up and he took out a notepad and pen. "Ohhhh, your date? Should I get you the special then?"

"That would be awesome." Brittany nodded.

"Fantastic, you can take your usual spot back there, your food will be out shortly." Mr. Chang smiled and handed one of the passing waitresses the piece of paper. "It was nice meeting you Santana, hopefully I'll see you again."

"Um, you too, sir." Santana returned the smile nervously, and watched the older man chuckle and walk away. Brittany led her over to the small secluded booth in the corner, and let Santana slide in before getting in after her.

"You come here often?" Santana teased, playfully flicking a sugar packet at the blonde.

"Maybe once or twice a week." Brittany grinned and shrugged, "Mr. Chang is my friend, Mike's, dad."

"Ohhhh," Santana nodded understandingly. "That's cool."

"Totally." Brittany agreed, flicking the packet back.

"Hey!" Santana giggled, searching for the packet which had fallen somewhere in her lap. "Where'd it go?"

"I think it fell in your purse." Brittany pointed to do the black bag on the opposite side of the Latina.

"Oh, ok." Santana nodded and leaned down to look through her bag. A few seconds later, Santana looked back to the blonde with a distraught look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asked worriedly, "There's more packets." She said, pointing to the other end of the table.

"It's not about that damn sugar packets." Santana snapped, before instantly regretting it and looked at the blonde guiltily, "I'm sorry, Britt. My wallet isn't here."

"Did you leave it at home?" Brittany suggested, knowing that happened to her quite often.

Santana shook her head. "No, it was in here when we left."

Brittany was quite for a moment, before her eyes lit up, "Remember we ran into that guy in the parking lot and he knocked your bag? Maybe it fell."

"You're right!" Santana smiled, and slid out of the booth once Brittany was out. "I'll go check."

"Let me come with you, it can get creepy at night." Brittany offered, but Santana just shook her head no.

"I'll be fine, B. It'll only take a second." She leaned forward to kiss the blonde's cheek, and let her lips linger for a little longer than usual. "I'll be ok." She repeated, looking directly into clear blue eyes.

"Ok." Brittany reluctantly agreed, and watched the Latina leave before returning to her seat.

A few minutes later, Mr. Chang came out of the back with their food, which looked beyond amazing in Brittany's words. "Your date gone already?" He teased, setting the large plates in the middle of the table.

Brittany laughed and shook her head, "No, she dropped something in the parking lot and went to go get it." She explained, taking a bite of the sweet & sour chicken.

"Oh, ok." Mr. Chang smiled. "Enjoy your meal, Brittany." He added, before walking away.

"I always do." Brittany called after him, before glancing at the door to see if Santana had walked in. She hadn't.

Ten minutes later, the blonde frowned when she checked the time on her phone and noticed that Santana had been gone for longer than she should've been, considering the parking lot wasn't that far away after all.

The longer she sat there, Brittany started questioning the idea for the date, and was starting to assume that Santana had ditched her or called someone to pick her up, but she wasn't sure why because it seemed like they were having such a good time so far.

Brittany's thoughts were put to a halt when she heard a gunshot and a scream that sounded an awfully a lot like Santana.


	8. Chapter 8

Brittany's head was spinning as she quickly hopped out of the booth and made it to the entrance of the restaurant as fast as humanly possible. Mr. Chang reached the door before Brittany could and attempted to stop her. "It could be dangerous, Brittany. I don't want you getting hurt." He said, resting his hand on the blonde's forearm.

Brittany just shook her head and gently moved the older man out of the way. "With all due respect, this is my job and I need to make sure Santana's ok." She pushed through the double doors and ran out to the side of the restaurant, where the parking lot was located. Her eyes scanned the area as best as they possibly could in the darkness, and spotted Santana huddled up by one of the dumpsters.

"San..." Brittany breathed out in relief, while approaching the Latina, who flinched when she saw the blonde.

"Brittany." Santana choked out, tightening her arms around herself.

"I'm here, I'm here." Brittany rambled out, leaning down to pull the smaller woman into her arms. "Are you hurt, Santana?" She quickly asked, looking over the Latina's body for any marks or bruises.

"No." Santana whispered, resting her head on the blonde's chest, "He had a gun, Britt." She sniffled.

"I know, honey." Brittany sighed and stroked Santana's dark hair. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. What exactly happened?"

"He had my wallet." Santana said sadly, "And unfortunatley when someone pisses me off, I go into full on Snixx mode."

"What's a Snixx?" Brittany furrowed her brows in confusion, glancing down at the Latina.

"Hopefully you won't ever have to find out." Santana smirked and continued to toy with a strand of the blonde's hair.

"Oh, it must be pretty bad huh?" Brittany asked with a small smile.

Santana nodded against the blonde's chest and took a deep breath. "I don't want to ruin our date B, but I really just want to go home right now." She admitted, pulling a loose thread from the edge of her top.

"It's ok, I understand." Brittany smiled softly and rubbed the Latina's sides. "If you want, I could get our food to-go and we can take it back to your place. Or mine, since Tina won't be there tonight." She shrugged.

Santana slowly pulled away from the blonde's arms and looked up to meet her eyes. "Really?" She asked with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Really." Brittany nodded, "A movie night in sounds better than what I had planned anyways."

"Shit!" Santana's eyes widened, "I forgot about the tickets you had to that show, I'm sorry Brittany."

"San, it's fine, really. I can always take us some other time." Brittany winked, "Now, why don't we head back inside before we get pneumonia."

"That would be pretty bad, wouldn't it?" Santana sighed and stood up, then helped Brittany.

"Very bad." Brittany agreed and leaned forward to kiss Santana's cheek softly. "Come on, it's freezing."

Santana took Brittany's hand, her own instantly tingling from the warmth, and led both of them back into the restaurant.

...

As they walked down the street to Brittany's apartment, the blonde realized Santana hadn't seen where she lived yet, and began chewing on her bottom lip with slight worry.

"Everything ok, Britt?" Santana asked, noticing the blonde's antics.

Brittany immediately stopped her actions and forced a smile in the Latina's direction, "I'm fine, just a little cold." She lied.

"Oh, well do you want my jacket?" Santana offered, reaching for the edge of her coat.

Brittany shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I don't want you to be cold."

"But you're cold." Santana furrowed her brows, "Plus I'm naturally warm natured, so I'm really not that cold."

"Santana." Brittany said sternly, and the Latina knew to just drop it.

"How's the case going?" Santana asked, deciding to take the conversation in a different direction.

"Not too good." The blonde admitted with a frown, "We haven't had any leads yet, so it's been pretty stressful at the station."

"I'm sorry." Santana said sympathetically, giving a small squeeze to Brittany's hand.

"You're sweet, but it's not your fault." Brittany smiled and kissed the top of the Latina's head softly. "How's it going with the bakery?"

"It's going." Santana sighed, "We've been at meetings all week and working on paperwork to get moved into a different area."

Brittany abruptly stopped in her tracks, startling the Latina. "Santana, do you know how much money that's going to cost?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Don't worry about that Britt, we were thinking of moving somewhere bigger anyways so that we can expand." Santana explained with a smile. "I guess having your business momentarily taken away from you gives you that push to go after what you've been wanting for awhile." She shrugged.

The blonde stared at the sidewalk for a few moments and bit her lip as they continued to walk. "I'm really sorry about that." Brittany said quietly, "I didn't want to do that, you know. I tried suggesting different ideas, but Schuester had his heart set on it. He was convinced that one of you were tied to the murders somehow."

"What?" Santana snapped, before realizing how loud she was and lowered her voice. "What?" She repeated, softer this time.

"He thinks one of you may be working with the killer, and I guess he just wanted to be sure." Brittany said softly, and pulled Santana closer. "I know you aren't though, don't worry about that." She quickly added.

Santana stayed quiet for the rest of the way there.

A few minutes later, the two walked up to a decent sized apartment building, not as large as the Latina's, but fairly big. Brittany led Santana inside and over the set of stairs.

"The elevator is shut down for repairing right now." The blonde apologized, "But luckily I'm only one the fourth floor, so the walk shouldn't be that long."

"It's fine." Santana shrugged, and headed up the stairs, followed closely behind by Brittany. They walked up four flights of stairs before stopping in front of Brittany's apartment door. She pulled a key out of her wallet and gracefully unlocked the door, before pushing it open.

"This is it." Brittany said, flipping on the light switch, then chewed on her bottom lip while waiting for the Latina's reaction.

Santana's eyes scanned the apartment and she let a small smile grace her lips. There were obvious places where it was clear the blonde had a roommate, but most of the apartment was just so...Brittany.

"Britt." Santana started with a smile, "I love it."

"You do?" Brittany let out a sigh of relief, enjoying the large grin that appeared on Santana's face.

Santana nodded again and turned around to face the blonde, then yelped loudly at the large shadow moving in the corner and practically threw herself into Brittany's arms.

"Britt!" She screeched and tightened her arms around the blonde's neck.

"What?" Brittany laughed, shifting her weight to support Santana's body.

"What is that?" Santana frowned, right as a very large cat emerged from the shadows and meowed loudly.

Brittany furrowed her brows in confusion, before noticing her cat heading towards them. "Lord Tubbington?" She smiled and set Santana back on the floor.

"Lord what?" Santana scowled.

"Did my cat scare you that bad San?" Brittany bit her lip to keep herself from bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Britt, it's not funny." Santana whined, crossing her arms over her chest, "How was I supposed to know what that was? It's huge!"

"Hey, he's big boned." Brittany defended him, and bent down to pick him up in her arms.

"Brittany, that cat is huge." Santana said, scrunching up her nose.

"She doesn't mean it." Brittany cooed into Lord Tubbington's ears, before setting him back down on the floor and glaring at Santana in the process.

"Ok, ok, he's _big boned_." Santana grinned.

"Let's just eat our food." Brittany shook her head and chuckled, taking a seat on the couch in front of the tv. Santana followed in suit, leaving a respective amount of space between the two of them while Brittany sorted out their food.

Three hours later, Santana was drifting off to sleep with her head resting in Brittany's lap, while the blonde played with her dark locks. Brittany gently rubbed Santana's sides, earning a hum in approval from the Latina.

"It's getting late, I should probably get going." Santana mumbled against Brittany's thigh.

"I guess you're right." Brittany sighed as she watched Santana sit up and fix her top, which had ridden up, showing off a sliver of toned abs.

"I had a really good time with you tonight Brittany." Santana smiled and stood on her tip-toes to wrap her arms around the blonde's neck.

"Even with the gun incident?" Brittany mumbled into Santana's dark hair, enjoying the vanilla smell that came from it.

"Even with the gun incident." The Latina confirmed, and pulled away slightly to look at the blonde's face, "Thank you for everything tonight."

Brittany blushed and ducked her head down. "I wanted to make sure you had a good time. I'm so, so sorry about the gun, Santana. You shouldn't have had to deal with that, I should've went with you and-" Brittany's rant was cut short by the feeling of Santana's plump lips against her own. It was a long and sensual kiss, and the blonde never wanted it to end. Brittany almost passed out when she felt Santana's tongue run across her bottom lip, and felt all the oxygen leave her body when the Latina's warm tongue entered her mouth.

Once they finally had to break apart for air, Santana grinned and leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on Brittany's lips. "It wasn't you fault, Britt." She whispered, and nuzzled her face into the crook of the blonde's neck.

"I still wish I could've been there." Brittany admitted, running her fingers up and down Santana's sides, drawing patterns every so often when her fingertips grazed smooth skin.

Santana's dark mocha eyes locked with Brittany's ocean blue ones, and she bit her lip. "You're here now, that's all that matters."

"I'll be here for as long as you'll have me." Brittany stated, and it warmed the Latina's heart.

"Good." Santana ghosted her finger over the blonde's facial features. "I'll see you later, Brittany." She said and pulled away, letting herself out of the apartment.

"I'll call you tomorrow!" Brittany called after her, walking into the hallway.

Santana stopped abruptly in front of the staircase and turned around, "I'll be looking forward to it." She winked, before heading down the first flight of stairs.

...

The next day, Santana tightened her grip on her purse as she pushed through the busy streets of New York City. She was heading to the small corner store near her apartment to get a few things for Friday.

Santana managed to walk the last few blocks without swearing or running into anyone, and sighed with relief when the store came into view. She was also relieved to see the store wasn't that busy, so this shopping trip could be a quick one.

"Looking for anything in particular?" A smooth voice asked from behind the Latina.

Santana rolled her eyes and turned around, her mouth dropping slightly at the sight in front of her. "What do you want, Gia?" She snapped.

The brunette's eyes widened and she took a step back. "Whoa San, what's your problem?" She smirked and grabbed a can of tomato sauce from the shelf next to them.

"Why are you here?" Santana hissed out, glancing around to make sure no one she knew was inside the store.

"Thought a change of scenery might be nice." Gia shrugged, "I heard you come here often, thought I might test my luck and see if I'd run into you." She smirked, with an evil glint in her eyes.

"What makes you think I'd want to see you?" Santana asked lowly, narrowing her eyes at the woman.

"Why wouldn't you?" Gia laughed and flipped her long hair over her shoulder, "I am pretty great."

"You're an awful bitch." Santana spat, crossing her arms over her chest.

Gia shrugged, "So are you." She pointed out.

Santana took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "Gia, if you care about keeping those fake ass extensions attached to your head, I suggest you get away from me as soon as possible."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a fuckin warning." Santana sneered, clenching her jaw tightly.

"Whatever." Gia laughed and turned on her heels to leave, "See you around, Santana." She winked, before strutting out of the store.

Santana continued to stare in the area where the brunette had just been, before snapping out of her daze and quickly gathering what she had left to get. She decided she was going to keep this little run-in to herself, to avoid anymore problems.

...

**9pm Friday night**

"How long until everything's ready?" Santana asked, setting two wine bottles and a champagne bottle on the kitchen island.

"The wings should be ready in the about ten minutes. These are almost done." Quinn informed her, before adding some shredded cheese to the potato skins. "Where are the bacon bits?"

"In the pantry." Rachel called from the medium-sized balcony, where she was grilling vegetables.

"Santana, make yourself useful and hand me the bacon bits." Quinn said, glancing at the Latina over her shoulder.

"Hey, I bought the alcohol. That shit isn't cheap." Santana frowned, and opened the pantry door. "I also bought the supplies to make this, so a thank you Santana would be nice." She smiled sweetly, before tossing the bacon bits shaker at Quinn.

"Santana!" The blonde snapped, dodging the shaker that almost pelted her in the head. "What the hell?"

Santana rolled her eyes and checked her makeup in the mirror attached to the refrigerator. "You're such a baby, Q. Sue used to throw shit at us all the time and you never flinched then."

"That's because it was like a reflex not to flinch, but it's been years since we were Cheerios." Quinn pointed out, then sprinkled the bacon bits over the cheesy potatoes.

Santana opened her mouth to comeback with a smart ass comment, right when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Santana yelled loud enough for Rachel to hear outside, before heading to the foyer to answer the door. "Hey guys," She smiled at the four people in the doorway.

"Hey San." Brittany smiled and kissed the Latina softly. "These are my friends, Tina, Mike, and Finn." She pointed to each person when introducing them.

"Nice to finally meet you." Mike smiled and stepped forward. "You're all Britt's been talking about lately."

"Yeah, she must really like you." Finn added, with a dopey grin on his face.

Santana chuckled at the blonde's face turning a light shade of red. "Well I'm glad because I really like her too." She winked, and ushered the four into the apartment.

"Wow, this place is amazing." Finn said with wide eyes, glancing around the foyer.

"Yeah, owning your own business has it's perks." Santana shrugged, leading them to the living room.

"A bakery paid for all of this?" Tina asked with a frown.

"Well, no. My parents had a large trust fund for me, and so did Quinn and Rachel's, so we put our money together along with the funds from the bakery and bought this place." Santana explained.

"Cool." Tina nodded, scanning the living room area. "Is this suede?" She asked, pointing to the couch.

"Yeah, Quinn's mom bought it for us when we first moved in." Santana smiled, taking a quick glance at Brittany who was staring back at her. She blushed and quickly looked away with a small smile on her face.

"Of course." Tina rolled her eyes and took a seat next to mike on the large chair.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana frowned, narrowing her eyes at the woman.

"Tina." Brittany snapped, earning the attention from everyone in the room. "Don't start." She added lowly.

"Sorry." Tina grumbled under her breath.

"Hello everyone." Rachel smiled brightly, entering the living room with the tray of potato skins and set them down on the table in front of the couch. "Welcome to our home."

"Hey Rach." Finn waved, and the shorter woman's smile grew impossibly larger.

"Hello Finn, how are you?" Rachel asked unconsciously smoothing out her hair.

"I'm good," Finn did his half smirk and nodded his head towards the potato skins, "I'm actually pretty hungry and those look amazing."

"Well thank you, because I spent thirty-minutes slaving over them." Quinn said, walking into the room with the alcohol in her hands. "The wings are ready too, but I couldn't carry them."

"I'll get that for you." Mike smiled, and headed back to the kitchen.

"Thank you!" Quinn called after him, before turning back to the group. "So, we have red wine, white wine, and champagne. What does everyone want?"

"Mike and I will have red wine." Tina said, while Finn decided on white and Santana, Rachel and Brittany went with champagne.

"Ok, I'll go get the glasses and then you guys can get whatever you want." Quinn shrugged and made her way back to the kitchen where Mike was coming out of.

"You can just set them right there Boy Chang." Santana said, pointing to the table. Mike frowned but did as asked, setting the platter down on the table next to the potato skins.

"His name is Mike." Finn pointed out, but Santana just waved her hand in the air, clearly uninterested.

"Same thing." She shrugged, "What did you say you wanted Britt?" She asked, holding two empty glasses.

"Champagne, please." The blonde smiled, then gladly accepted the glass from Santana.

Seconds later Quinn came back with more glasses and passed them around to everyone. After everyone had a satisfactory amount of alcohol, the green-eyes blonde stood up and walked over to the table containing the food. "Let's eat." She announced, causing a line to form behind her as she began making herself a plate.

Just as Santana went to grab a plate, Tina casually blocked her and folded her arms over her chest. "Can we talk for a minute?" She asked, glancing around the living room for a more private area.

"Um, sure." Santana frowned and set the paper plate back in the stack. "We could go on the balcony?" She suggested, pointing to the small outdoors area.

"Yeah, that's perfect." Tina agreed, then followed the Latina to the secluded area outside.

"What's up?" Santana asked and leaned back against the railing.

"Look Santana," Tina started, and Santana's smile dropped slightly at the seriousness in her voice, "This thing going on between you and Brittany, it's not going to work if you aren't fully committed."

"Excuse me?" Santana asked slowly, making sure she had heard her right.

Tina sighed and met the Latina's confused eyes. "I can tell you're a good person Santana, but that doesn't mean I won't worry about Brittany. She's been through a lot, and if you have any intention on hurting her then I suggest you end this little fling right now."

"Ok, first of all, who the hell do you think you are?" Santana snapped, "My relationship with Brittany is none of your damn business."

"It is my business, because she's my best friend. Just like it's Quinn and Rachel's business because they're your best friends. We all worry and care about the both of you, we just want to make sure everything's ok first." Tina explained, hoping to come off a little less harsh.

"Look, I get you being worried about Britt." Santana started, her eyes softening. "But what happens between us is our business, and no one else's. I would appreciate it if you would respect that. I mean, how would you feel if I tried to basically put myself into yours and Asian number two's relationship?"

"How did you know that I'm dating Mike?" Tina asked with furrowed brows.

"I just assumed." Santana shrugged.

"Why, because we're both Asian?" Tina teased while uncrossing her arms and relaxing for the first time in the Latina's presence.

Santana playfully rolled her eyes, "That's exactly why." She smirked and nodded her head in agreement.

"That always seems to give it away." Tina chuckled, "I'm sorry for being on your ass, Santana. I just had to make sure you were good enough for B, I can get a little protective over Britt sometimes."

"Yeah, I can tell." Santana laughed and adjusted her tight black top, "But I understand. I wouldn't be surprised if Quinn and Rachel were in there interrogating Brittany right now, which they better not be because I will kick their asses."

"Well we should probably get back in there then." Tina smiled, and offered her hand to the Latina. "Truce?"

"For now." Santana winked, earning a small laugh from Tina as the two made their way back inside the apartment.

**...**

**First kiss...**

**Who's Gia? Hmm...**

**Overprotective Tina in full on mode lol, they'll be more of protective Quinn and Rachel next chapter **


	9. Chapter 9

**One week later- 9am**

"Morning Pierce." Puck greeted when he saw the blonde walk into the station with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Good morning Puckerman." Brittany replied brightly and continued to her office. Ever since their first kiss a week ago, her and Santana have been doing great. They haven't put a title on what they were exactly, because in Brittany's opinion, titles make everything more confusing.

Brittany entered her office and set her coffee and jacket down on her desk, her smile never faltering. She combed her fingers through her loose blonde hair, which she decided to leave down that day, and took a seat at her desk, immediately checking her emails.

"Well someone's in a good mood today. What happened?" Mercedes teased as she walked into the blonde's office and leaned on the side on the desk.

"Santana's amazing." Brittany stated with a shrug, and took a sip of her coffee.

"I'm sure she is. When do I get to meet her?" Mercedes asked with an arched brow.

Brittany frowned and momentarily looked away from her computer. "Didn't you meet her when we had to bring them in for questioning?"

"Nope," Mercedes shook her head, "I was out of town that day."

"Oh. Well, maybe I'll bring her here one day." Brittany shrugged and continued sorting through her emails.

"Mhmm, you better girl. Or I'll find her myself, it is what I do for a living after all." Mercedes winked and headed towards the door. "Do you want to hit up that new Mexican place a few blocks away for lunch?"

Brittany nodded. "Sure, around two maybe?" Mercedes gave her a thumbs up in response, before leaving the office.

...

"Santana, will you please focus?" Rachel huffed, motioning to the red cocktail dress she was trying on.

"I'm sorry, I'm focused." Santana smiled sweetly and allowed her eyes to scan over the shorter woman's body. "No, I don't like it. Try on the dark blue one."

"Are you kidding me? This is the seventh one." Rachel whined and turned to look at herself in the mirror.

Santana rolled her eyes and set down the magazine she had been flipping through. "Look Rach, I'm just trying to help you out. You asked for my honest opinion, and my honest opinion is that that dress makes you look four months pregnant."

"Santana!" Rachel gasped and looked around to make sure no one had heard. "That is so incredibly rude, I should've brought Quinn." She grumbled, before trudging back into her dressing room.

"I wish you would've." Santana called after her, before pulling her phone out of her pocket to see if she had any messages from a certain blonde.

She smiled widely when she saw Brittany's name pop up on her lock screen.

**BRITT- Work is boring :( I'd rather be exploring the city with you **

**SAN- Awww, I'm sure it's better than spending all day watching Berry try on dresses lol. Come over later? **

**BRITT- Is she finding an outfit for her date w/ Finn? **

**BRITT- Oh, and of course I'll come by later :) **

**SAN- Yep. Yay! We can order something in from that new Italian restaurant down the street**

**BRITT- Sounds great, I have to get back to work now though :(( I'll call you on my break **

**SAN- Ok, bye Britt **

**BRITT- Bye San, talk to you later **

"Seriously, San?" Rachel groaned while placing her hands on her hips.

Santana looked away from her phone and up at a very pissed off Rachel Berry, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I got distracted," she smirked and tucked her phone back into her purse.

"Obviously." Rachel huffed and rolled her eyes, "What about this dress?" She motioned down to the dark blue, mid-thigh high cocktail dress she had on and posed.

"I like it." Santana nodded in approval, "It looks really good on you Berry." She admitted.

"Why thank you, I think so as well." Rachel smiled widely and tossed her hair over her shoulders.

"Are you saying yes to the dress?" Santana teased, quoting one of her and Rachel's favorite shows to binge on.

"I'm saying yes to the dress!" Rachel clapped, before heading back into the dressing room to change. Seven minutes later, she emerged in her regular clothing and the dress hanging over her left arm. "Let's go check out."

Santana slung her purse over her shoulder and followed Rachel out of the dressing room section, and back into the main area of the store. "Do you want to get lunch after this?" She asked, scrolling through her phone.

"Sure, I'm kind of in the mood for sandwiches. Duffy's on 15th?" Rachel suggested.

"Sounds good." Santana agreed as they made their way to the register.

"So," Rachel started, "Who had you so distracted earlier?" She asked, raising a brow.

"Just Britt." Santana shrugged and gently pushed Rachel to move forward, since they were next in line.

"Oh I love Brittany, anyone who will stay with you after experiencing a Faberry interrogation is committed." Rachel smiled and handed her dress to the woman at the register.

"What the hell is a Faberry?" Santana laughed, "It sounds like some type of citrus dessert."

"It's a mash-up of mine and Quinn's names. It was either that or Quinchel." Rachel explained while handing their cashier a hundred dollar bill.

Santana scrunched up her nose and shook her head. "Gross."

"Hey, I worked hard on coming up with that." Rachel frowned.

Santana had to bite her lip to keep a chuckle from tumbling out. "Oops."

"Ugh whatever, don't forget about our meeting with Mr. Jackson to see a possible space for the bakery tomorrow." Rachel informed her while looping the shopping bag over her wrist.

Santana rolled her eyes. "I won't. 11am right?"

"Right." Rachel nodded in confirmation, "That means you have to wake up at 8am for us to leave on time."

"Bullshit." Santana scoffed, "I didn't even wake up that early for school."

"I realize that. You were always late." Rachel shook her head in disapproval, "Tardiness will get you nowhere in life Santana."

"Thank you Rachel, I'll make sure to live by those words from now on." Santana rolled her eyes and followed Rachel out of the store.

"You should, I've heard I give great advice." Rachel smiled brightly.

"Says who?" Santana laughed, earning a glare from the smaller brunette.

"I don't have time for this. Are we going to lunch or not?" Rachel snapped.

"Whoa, calm down Berry." Santana arched a brow, "I'm not going to lunch with you if you act all pissed off the entire time."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at the Latina and huffed. "Fine, I'll be pleasant."

"Great." Santana smirked.

...

**9pm**

"Britt, that's not fair. You cheated." Santana whined, feeling less than enthusiastic about losing at Monopoly for the fifth time.

"I did not." Brittany chuckled as she packed the game back up in it's box. "You're just really bad at board games." She teased. Santana pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, looking beyond adorable in Brittany's eyes.

Brittany leaned forward to place a sweet kiss on Santana's lips, causing the pout to drop as Santana immediately responded. "Hmmm, I love kissing you." Santana smiled lazily once the kiss broke and used the hand that wasn't wrapped around the blonde's neck to stroke her cheek.

"And I love kissing you." Brittany winked, before leaning back down to kiss the Latina's deeply.

Santana let out a soft moan when she felt Brittany's tongue against her own, and slowly pulled away. "Britt, I'm about two seconds from ripping your clothes off if you don't stop." She explained, noticing the confused look on the blonde's face.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that." Brittany shrugged.

"Yeah, well I would be." Santana laughed and stood up to set the game back on the shelf, "I want to wait with you. You're special to me Brittany, and I don't want our first time to be on the floor of my living room."

"You're sweet, San." Brittany said softly and followed the Latina to the kitchen. "You're special to me too. So very much."

"Glad we're on the same page then." Santana winked as she grabbed two bottles of water out of the refrigerator, then handed one to Brittany.

"But it really doesn't help that you're sexy as hell." Brittany pouted, while staring at the bare skin on the Latina's body that her tank top and short shorts didn't completely cover.

Santana chuckled and pecked the blonde's cheek as she walked by. "Keep it in your pants, Pierce." She called over her shoulder, before heading back to the living room.

"I can keep it in mine, but can you?" Brittany asked seductively, biting her lip to add more effect.

Santana's eyes turned an impossibly darker shade of brown and she cleared her voice to get rid of the huskiness, "You may need to borrow a pair of my sweatpants tonight." She mumbled, licking her lips as her eyes raked over the blonde's toned body.

Brittany shuddered under Santana's intense stare and shook her head, "San." She warned, giving the Latina a pointed look.

"Sorry." Santana said sheepishly, but couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Mhmm," Brittany rolled her eyes, "What movie do you want to watch?" She asked while sorting through the DVD collection in the Lopez-Fabray-Berry household.

"I don't know, something funny." Santana shrugged. "Maybe a romantic comedy?"

"Hmm,_ Think Like A Man?_" Brittany suggested, holding up the DVD for Santana to see.

"Sure, put it in. Do you want me to make popcorn?"

"Yes!" Brittany exclaimed in the most adorable way, and Santana couldn't help but smile at her.

"Ok, red or white wine?" The Latina asked over her shoulder while making her way back to the kitchen.

"White!"

"Got it." Santana winked, and headed for the kitchen.

...

**3am**

Brittany slowly opened her eyes and glanced around the darkness of the room, momentarily forgetting where she was since she never slept with the light off. It wasn't until her eyes landed on a tan arm wrapped around her waist, that she realized she fell asleep in Santana's bed.

"San, Santana." Brittany whispered, gently rubbing the Latina's back to wake her up.

"What, baby?" Santana mumbled sleepily, then buried her head further into the blonde's chest.

Brittany's heart fluttered at the pet name, but she had to focus on the situation she was in at the moment. "Sanny, sweetheart, I need to pee."

"Ok." Santana sighed and loosened her grip on Brittany's waist.

Five minutes later, the blonde came tip-toeing out of the bathroom, just Incase the Latina had fallen asleep. On her way back to the bed, something hanging on the wall caught her attention and she momentarily stopped.

"Come back to bed B, I needz to get my cuddles on." Santana mumbled and reached out for Brittany, who was staring at the new additions on Santana's bulletin board. There were four pictures, two of them when they were hanging around the apartment together and the other two were from their first and second dates.

"Hey Santana?"

Santana sighed and slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes in the process. "Yeah Britt?"

"Can I cut on your bathroom light and leave the door cracked? I'm not a big fan of the dark..." She trailed off, toying with the hem of her tank top to avoid eye contact with the Latina.

"Of course, B." Santana said softly, snuggling back under her blankets. "Do whatever you need to do. I want you to be comfortable."

"Ok." Brittany smiled with one last glance at the board and went to turn on the bathroom light, then climbed back into bed with Santana, who immediately cuddled next to her.

"You're so warm." Santana sighed happily and nuzzled her nose against the blonde's cheek.

"Am I?" Brittany chuckled, loving how adorable sleepy Santana was.

"Mhmm." Santana hummed and mumbled a few more words that the blonde didn't understand, before she fell back asleep.

Brittany was relieved she didn't have to explain her fear of the dark, at least for the night, and soon fell asleep after the Latina.

Seven hours later, Brittany woke up a second time from the bright rays of sunshine pouring through Santana's curtains. She reached over for Santana, but only found cold sheets next to her. The blonde frowned and slowly sat up, glancing around Santana's empty bedroom. She was about to fall back asleep when she heard a beautiful voice singing throughout the apartment.

Brittany quickly hopped out of bed and quietly left the room, stopping when she reached the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining room, and poked her head in.

_Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand_

_But I still need love 'cause I'm just a man_

_These nights never seem to go to plan_

_I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand? _

_Oh, won't you stay with me?_

_'Cause you're all I need_

_This ain't love, it's clear to see_

_But darling, stay with me_

"You never told me you could sing." Brittany said softly, causing Santana to jump in surprise and throw her hand over her chest.

"Dios mío!" Santana screeched, dropping a banana on the floor. "Jesus Britt, you scared the shit out of me." She breathed out, her chest beating rapidly.

"Sorry." Brittany smiled sweetly and walked further into the kitchen. "But you're an amazing singer Santana, why didn't you ever tell me?" She tilted her head to the side.

"It's not important." Santana shrugged and continued smashing the bananas she was making for her infamous chocolate chip and banana muffins.

Brittany frowned and wrapped her arms around the Latina's waist, resting her chin on her shoulder. "I would've liked to know." She said softly, placing a kiss to the bare skin in between Santana's shoulder and neck.

"I guess it just never occurred to me to tell you," Santana sighed and turned around in the blonde's arms, "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Brittany shook her head and leaned down to kiss Santana gently. "How'd you sleep last night?" She asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Amazing actually, I don't think I've slept that peacefully in awhile." Santana smiled and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder.

Brittany frowned at this new piece of information, recalling Santana stirring in her sleep several times throughout the night. She would stay awake and rub her back softly until she fell back asleep. "Why haven't you been sleeping San?" She asked with furrowed brows.

Santana's eyes quickly averted and she pulled out of Brittany's embrace, "Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." She chuckled and pulled out a knife to chop up the chocolate chips with.

"Santana..."

"I said it's nothing Brittany, god dammit." She snapped, then instantly regretted it when she saw the hurt flash across the blonde's face. "I didn't- I'm sorry." She said quietly, gripping the knife so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

Brittany slowly re-approached the Latina and brought her hand up to her mouth to gently kiss her knuckles, so that she could slide the knife out with ease. "I'll finish making breakfast, go relax honey." She said softly.

"I'm sorry Brittany. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, it's just..." She trailed off and stared down at her feet in embarrassment.

"A defense mechanism, I get it. It's ok, I'm not mad at you." Brittany gave her a reassuring smile and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'll be finished in here soon, ok?"

"Ok." Santana nodded, feeling a little better than she did before, and left the kitchen without another word.

Fifteen minutes later, Brittany walked into the living room holding a tray full of muffins and set them down on the table. She looked down at Santana's sleeping form on the couch and smiled.

"San, wake up." She said softly, and gently rubbed the Latina's sides.

Santana stirred and slowly opened her eyes, smiling when they focused on Brittany's face. "Hey." She rasped out and leaned forward to kiss the blonde.

"Hey." Brittany returned the smile, "I finished the muffins." She pointed to the tray on the table.

"I know, I can smell them. They smell amazing by the way, why didn't you tell me you could bake?" Santana teased and reached behind Brittany to grab one.

"I think everyone can bake at least something." Brittany shrugged as Santana took a bite.

"Oh my god Britt," She moaned, "You make these better than I do. Every time you come over from now on you're making these."

"Every time?" Brittany raised a brow and grinned down at Santana, who was still enjoying her muffin.

"Hell yes, every time. Come over whenever and make me these muffins." Santana smiled and reached for another one.

"Are you just using me for my baking skills, Lopez?" Brittany gasped and took a muffin from the tray herself.

"No, I would never." Santana smirked.

"Well, maybe I'll make you something for lunch too. If you're good." The blonde gave her a pointed look.

Santana threw her hand over her chest dramatically and did her best to look offended. "Hey, I can be good. Good is my middle name."

"I highly doubt that." Brittany chuckled, "So I guess I can start on lunch in a few hours then." She shrugged after checking her watch.

"Oh shit, what time is it?" Santana said with wide eyes, frantically searching around the couch for her phone.

"Almost ten-thirty, why?" Brittany frowned.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Santana mumbled to herself, "I'm late for a meeting."

"Oh, do you need me to do anything?" Brittany asked, watching Santana scramble around her living room like a maniac.

Santana shook her head and victoriously held her phone in the air, which had fallen between the couch cushions. "I'm going to go get ready, would you mind cleaning up the kitchen a little bit? I'd rather not get two lectures from Berry in the same day."

"Sure, of course. Go get ready, I'll take care of this." Brittany smiled and ushered the Latina out of the room, before she headed to the kitchen.

Brittany began rinsing out the bowl she used for the batter when her phone started to ring on the opposite counter. She sighed and set the bowl back in the sink, and quickly answered when she saw it was Will calling.

**Pierce, I need you to get down to the station as soon as possible.** He stated, before she even had the chance to get out a proper hello.

_Why? What's going on? _Brittany frowned, considering it was one of the few off days she had.

_**We think we have a lead here, and it involves your friend Santana.**_

_What? _Brittany hissed out, quietly enough so that Santana couldn't overhear. _Santana isn't involved with this case, we both know that._

**Pierce, this is an order. I need you down at the station right now, I'll explain everything when you get here.** Will snapped, before hanging up.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I love that all of you are enjoying this story so much, I definitely appreciate a ton. For some of you asking, yes you'll find out about Santana's past eventually, possibly in the next few chapters.**

**Anyways, here's a new chapter so enjoy!**

...

"I'm so sorry." Santana quickly apologized while taking the empty seat in between Quinn and Rachel.

"Can't you be on time for anything, Santana?" Quinn snapped, narrowing her eyes at the Latina. "You had one thing to do, and that was to get here on time."

"Luckily Mr. Jackson's previous meeting is running a little later than scheduled, so he doesn't know that you were late." Rachel chimed in, before going back to the magazine she was reading.

"See? You have no reason to be pissed at me now, Q." Santana rolled her eyes and leaned back in the chair.

"Santana, I swear to-"

"Ms. Fabray, Ms. Lopez, and Ms. Berry?" The secretary called out, interrupting Quinn much to Santana's relief.

"That's us." Rachel smiled politely and walked over to the desk, followed by both women.

"Mr. Jackson will see you in room 36 now." The secretary stated, before going back to her work.

"Thank you." Quinn smiled, and headed over to the glass elevators a few feet away.

"Are you guys nervous? Because I'm nervous. What if he takes the whole "shut down" thing badly and doesn't consider us for the space? It would be perfect, it's on a busy street near Starbucks, you know everyone goes to Starbucks-" Rachel rambled out in one sentence.

"Rachel!" Santana snapped. "Calm down, everything will be fine."

"Seriously Rachel, you need to chill out." Quinn sighed and hit the correct floor number. "If you keep acting this way, he'll think we're unprofessional and definitely won't consider us."

"Q's right, and I will be damned if you ruin this for us Berry." Santana stated, narrowing her eyes at the shorter woman.

Rachel opened her mouth to reply right as the elevator dinged and opened, allowing the three women to walk out. They held their breath as they walked down the hall to room 36, hesitantly opening the door to Mr. Jackson's office.

"Ladies, welcome." The man's deep voice boomed, as he swirled around in his large black chair to face them.

"It's our pleasure to be here, sir." Rachel said quickly, taking one of the three seats in front of Mr. Jackson's desk. Quinn and Santana followed her lead, filling in the other two.

"Well, let me start of first by saying how sorry I am to hear about your business. My daughter loves your bakery, her nanny takes her there every Saturday to get a chocolate fudge brownie." He informed them with a warm smile, clasping his hands together in front of him.

Rachel and Santana exchanged a glance, while Quinn did the rest of the talking. "We're glad she enjoys them, our brownies are one of our most popular sellers."

"I've never had one myself, but I'm sure they are." Mr. Jackson winked, before pulling a stack of papers in front of him. "Now, let's get down to business. We've already discussed the price, am I correct?"

"Yes, we already agreed on one thousand, two hundred a month." Santana confirmed with a nod.

"Wonderful. Now considering your offer was the highest I've received, I can go ahead and guarantee the spot as yours." He informed them.

"Seriously?" Quinn squealed excitedly, before coughing and glancing at the two women sitting on either side of her. "I mean, that sounds great."

Santana snickered while Rachel nervously glanced at Mr. Jackson, who as surprisingly chuckling. "Yes well, I would be excited too. It's an excellent space, considering you said you were hoping to expand."

"So, we got it?" Santana asked for confirmation.

"Most likely." He nodded. "If there isn't a higher offer by next Monday, then it's all yours."

"That's amazing, thank you so much." Rachel smiled widely and leaned forward to shake his out-reached hand.

"It's my pleasure, ladies. Have a good day." He waved, as the three women stood up and exited the office.

...

"Where's Schuester?" Brittany asked Puck as she walked into the police station.

Puck glanced at the blonde, before turning his attention back to the computer in front of him. "In his office where he usually is." He informed her. "He doesn't seem too happy Pierce, you better watch out."

Brittany rolled her eyes and smoothed out her black t-shirt. "I think I can handle him." She stated sharply.

Puck held his hands up defensively and smirked. "I know you can, Pierce. I was just saying."

"Get back to work, Puckerman." Brittany ordered, before leaving his desk and making her way to Will's office upstairs. She tapped the door with her knuckles a few times, and walked inside when she heard a distant 'come in.'

"Pierce, glad you could make it." Will stated, leaning back against his desk as he greeted the blonde.

"You didn't really give me a choice, Schuester." Brittany retorted and leaned against the door frame.

"Shut the door behind you." He ordered, moving away from his desk to grab a plastic bag out of a bottom drawer. Brittany did as she was told, and moved further into the dimly lit office.

"This was found at the scene of our most recent murder." Will stated, tossing a dark red Louis Vuitton wallet on the desk. "4:15am this morning, another body found near a dark alley on Landers street."

Brittany furrowed her brows and glanced back up at the curly-haired man. "What is this?"

"Open it." He demanded, nodding his head towards the wallet.

Brittany frowned and grabbed the wallet, unzipping it to reveal what was inside. She noticed the ID in the left side pocket and brought the item closer to her face. "Santana Lopez?"

"It seems that Ms. Lopez's wallet was left behind, only twelve feet away from the body. Funny how that works, isn't it?" Will's face remained stoic as he spoke. "I find it rather interesting."

"Santana wasn't there." Brittany snapped, her grip tightening on the wallet.

"And how would you know?" Will tilted his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at the blonde.

Brittany's heart dropped, knowing if her boss knew she was possibly dating a suspect in their biggest case at the moment, it could ruin her career in an instant. "I had a meeting with Ms. Lopez early this morning, around the same time this crime took place. She informed me that her wallet went missing the other day, so the person who took it is obviously working with our criminal here." The blonde stated confidently, her voice never wavering.

"What was this meeting about? I never gave an order for that to happen, you should have ran it by me first." Will shook his head. "You can't just do whatever you want, Pierce. Remember who runs this place."

"Yes sir, I know. But it never hurts to be sure, I just asked her a few more questions regarding the murders." Brittany explained.

"And did you get any new information?" He asked, raising a brow.

"No." Brittany shook her head.

Will stayed silent, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I want you to spend more time with Ms. Lopez. Maybe if you get close to her, then she'll give us more information on this case." He looked directly into Brittany's eyes. "I need you to date her."

"What?" Brittany's eyes went wide and she quickly shook her head. "I won't date her just for this case, that's disrespectful for one, and completely wrong. I'm not that kind of person-"

"It's not a question, it's an order Pierce." Will snapped, quickly cutting her off. "And if you do anything to throw this case, you're out of your position and will be replaced immediately. Do you understand?"

Brittany opened her mouth to protest, but Will quickly stopped her once again. "Do you understand, Pierce?" He asked again, harsher this time.

Brittany's shoulders slumped forward and she let out a defeated sigh. "Yes."

"Glad we're on the same page." Will smiled and began to pack up his things. "You can return that wallet back to Ms. Lopez, there isn't anymore use for it now." He shrugged.

Brittany just nodded in response, not bothering to look up at the man.

Will stopped abruptly, his hand resting on the doorknob. "Oh, and Pierce?"

Brittany internally groaned and lifted her head. "Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone about our little plan, ok?" Will stated, not making it an option to say no.

"Of course." The blonde forced a smile.

Will gave her a satisfied nod, before opening the door and walking out without another word. 

...

**7pm**

"I got it!" Santana yelled and jogged to the door, pleasantly surprised with who was on the other side. "Hey Britt, I didn't know you were coming by?" She smiled at the blonde, moving to the side to let her in the apartment.

Brittany smiled weakly and shook her head, holding out the Latina's wallet. "I can't stay, I just wanted to come by and bring you this." She stated softly.

"Oh, wow where did you find it?" Santana asked, taking the wallet out of the blonde's hands.

"Someone turned it in at the station." Brittany lied. "I guess you got lucky, that doesn't happen often in New York City."

"I guess so." Santana shrugged and tossed the wallet on the small table sitting beside the door. "Are you sure you can't stay? Quinn's making ravioli, and I'm pretty sure there's enough to feed an army." She chuckled.

"No." Brittany shook her head, "I've just had a really long day and I'm pretty tired, so I think I'm just going to head home and go to bed."

"Well you could stay here-"

"I can't, Santana." Brittany said harshly, instantly regretting it when Santana flinched.

"Ok." Santana frowned, and Brittany noticed the change in her mood. "Have a good night then." She stated, and went to shut the door.

"No, wait." Brittany reached out to stop the door from closing completely. "I'm sorry San." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Santana." She repeated, looking into the Latina's eyes as she said it.

Santana bit her lip and nodded slowly. "Ok."

"Can I kiss you?" Brittany asked shyly, chewing on her bottom lip as her eyes scanned over Santana's face. Santana nodded and pushed herself up on her tippy toes, meeting the blonde halfway.

Brittany sighed into the kiss, bringing her right hand up to cup Santana's face as her lips moved skillfully against the brunette's.

"I'll come by tomorrow and we can hang out, ok?" Brittany said once the kiss broke, resting her forehead against Santana's.

"Ok, Britt." Santana smiled and quickly pecked the blonde's lips before moving back. "You should probably head home, it's getting late and I'd feel better if you were safe in your apartment before it gets too dark."

"I'm a cop, Santana." Brittany pointed out with a grin.

"I don't care, cops get hurt too, B." Santana shrugged.

"How about I text you when I get home so you're not worrying?" Brittany suggested, smiling when Santana nodded in approval.

"As soon as you get home." She gave the blonde a pointed look. "You can be forgetful sometimes."

"I promise I'll text you, San." Brittany chuckled.

"I'm holding you to that." Santana playfully glared, earning a laugh from the blonde.

"I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Brittany smiled, leaning down to kiss Santana's forehead.

"Get home safely, Brittany." Santana stated, wrapping her arms tightly around the blonde.

"I will. Sleep tight, San." Brittany whispered into the Latina's hair.

"You too, Britt."

...

The next day, Brittany and Puck were sitting in one of the station's undercover police cars right on the corner of Jackson street, where Schuester ordered them to sit out and see if there was any suspicious activity going on.

"Is there a specific guy we're looking for?" Brittany asked, her eyes never leaving the windshield.

Puck shook his head and leaned back in the driver seat. "Not that I know of."

"There's barely anything going on right now." Brittany sighed. "I don't think a street in New York City has been this dead since, ever."

"That's kind of suspicious, don't you think?" Puck glanced at the blonde and raised a brow.

"It could be something, but there's no way of knowing unless we see something." Brittany rested her head against the window. "Which we haven't in the past two and a half hours."

"Damn, this is getting ridiculous. We need to call Schuester and-"

Puck was cut off by Brittany abruptly leaning forward in her seat, where her face was only inches from the windshield.

"What?" Puck asked, frowning in confusion.

"That guy." Brittany pointed to a man in his late twenties crossing the street, his eyes quickly averting as he went. "What's under his arm?"

Puck followed Brittany's actions and leaned forward to get a better look. "It's a piece of paper and, a knife?" He looked to Brittany.

The blonde made sure her gun was secured in her side belt, before unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door. "Let's see what he knows."

Puck nodded and opened his own door, following the blonde up the street to reach the dark-haired man. "Hey, wait up!" He yelled, once they were only a few feet away.  
The man stopped abruptly and glanced over his shoulder, noticing the two cops behind him, and instantly fled.

"Yeah, that's not suspicious at all." Brittany stated before running full speed after the man, thanking herself for all those hours of police training that had her in amazing shape.

Once they were only inches apart, Brittany reached out to grab the hem of his jacket and pulled him back harshly, causing him to stumble directly into her arms. She gave herself a pat on the back and grabbed her handcuffs, right as the man elbowed her in the stomach and pulled out his knife. Brittany grunted in pain, stumbling back a few steps but quickly dodged the knife, pulling her gun out at an inhuman speed and pointing it at their suspect.

"Drop it." Brittany demanded lowly, her arms never wavering from the target.

The man looked hesitant and glanced around him to find an escape, but Puck was standing only a few feet away with his gun also ready. "I didn't do anything." He stated quickly, tightening his hold on the knife. "You've got the wrong guy."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem to do what she asked and drop your weapon, should it buddy?" Puck growled, inching closer to the pair.

"You're right, let me just set it down." The man smiled, noticing Brittany relax slightly at the sight on him bending down, and took it as her moment of weakness to jump up unexpectedly and slice the side of her neck with the knife.

Brittany heard a gunshot and Puck scream her name a few times, before everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

Brittany groaned at the pain coming from the right side of her neck and slowly opened her eyes, then quickly squeezing them shut at the brightness coming from the overhead lighting in the room. She heard a few murmurs in the background and peered through the small opening of her eyelids, immediately noticing Tina leaning over her wearing a worried expression.

"Britt! How are you feeling? Are you ok? What hurts?" Tina rambled out, her face only inches from the blonde's. "Do I need to call the doctor? Is your neck sore? Mike, get the nurse!"

"Mike, do not get the nurse." Brittany rasped out, and cleared her throat a few times before speaking again. "You need to calm down before you have a stroke." She stated, lightly smacking Tina's arm.

"Brittany, do not start your shit with me right now. Do you know how terrified I was? What the hell were you thinking, messing with an armed guy like that? Puck could've handled that and you wouldn't be here right now!" Tina snapped, narrowing her eyes at her best friend. "You could've been killed! Then what would I do? Mike would have to drag me out of the shadows of my bedroom into the daylight and peel the gallons of ice cream out of my hands."

Mike walked over to the pair and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder, attempting to calm her down. "Honey, maybe you should sit down somewhere." He suggested, nodding his head in the direction of the couch sitting under the large window.

"No, I'm not finished yelling at Brittany yet." She stated, her glare never wavering from the blonde.

"_Mike_." Brittany groaned and looked to the man standing next to her bedside. "Please calm your girlfriend down before she attacks me."

Tina rolled her eyes and reluctantly followed Mike as he led them over to the small couch within the room. "Lucky for you, Puck caught the guy. So getting your neck split open wasn't completely worthless." She informed her while propping her head up with the palm of her hand.

"It's not split open, it's just a little cut." Brittany rolled her eyes, not missing the way Tina's mouth fell when the words left her lips.

"_Just a little cut_? Are you kidding me?" Tina hissed out and shook her head. "Do you have any idea how many stitches you had to get Brittany?"

"I'm guessing a lot?" Brittany cracked a smile, attempting to lighten the mood, but the only thing that came out of it was Tina's glare returning.

"Mike, hold me back before I attack her." Tina said calmly, and Mike just chuckled and gently rubbed Tina's arm.

"Maybe we should go get Santana-"

"Santana's here?" Brittany asked, quickly cutting her friend off.

"Yeah, she's been here for awhile now. Rachel and Quinn were here too, a few hours ago, but they had business to take of, so they had to leave. They tried to convince Santana to go with them but she refused to go anywhere until she knew you were ok." Finn explained, speaking for the first time since the blonde woke up.

"How long have I been out?" Brittany frowned, searching all three faces for an answer.

"Since yesterday around 4." Tina told her. "We were worried you wouldn't come to, and we felt even worse when the doctor started to doubt it. You hit your head pretty hard when you fell, thank god for Puck getting you here on time."

"Oh." Brittany glanced out the window, then at the hospital room's door. "I want Santana in here." She looked directly at Tina when she said it.

"Brittany, you need your rest. You can see Santana later, I'm sure she'll be here." Tina tried to convince, but Brittany's eyes narrowed dangerously and she shook her head firmly.

"Let Santana in." Brittany repeated sternly.

Tina sighed and glanced at Mike and Finn, who both just shrugged, then walked over to the door and opened it. Santana bursted in a second later, wasting no time to get to Brittany's bedside.

"Britt." She breathed out, her eyes scanning over the light bruises on the blonde's face and the stitches in the side of her neck.

"I'm ok San." Brittany smiled weakly and ushered the Latina to take the spot next to her. "Come lay down with me."

Santana shook her head. "I don't want to hurt you."

"She's right Brittany, you could hurt yourself." Tina pointed out and stood next to Santana with her arms folded across her chest. "You don't need any extra pressure on your body right now, you're still pretty weak."

"Tina." Brittany sighed and closed her eyes. "You, Finn, and Mike need to leave for a little while. You've been cooped up in this hospital room for awhile now, go home and shower then come back later." She suggested.

Tina opened her mouth to protest, but by the look Brittany quickly shot her she knew that there wasn't going to be any compromising and reluctantly nodded. "We'll be back in a few hours, ok?"

"Ok." Brittany smiled and watched the three of her friends leave the room, then looked back to Santana when the door shut. "Lay down with me, Sanny." She repeated, looking into dark mocha eyes.

Santana nodded and kicked her heels off before carefully climbing onto the bed, immediately snuggling into Brittany's side. "You weren't waking up, B." She whispered. "They were giving you 24 hours before moving you to ICU."

Brittany shifted slightly so that she was able to look into Santana's eyes, her heart dropping when she saw how red and glossy they were. "San..."

"I was so scared, Brittany. No, I was terrified." Santana shook her head and allowed the tears to spill out of her eyes. "I can't lose you. I've never liked anyone as much as I've liked you before, and that scares the shit out of me."

Brittany gently used the pad of her thumb to brush Santana's tears away. "You won't lose me, Santana. I promise you won't." She stated, her eyes never leaving the dark ones in front of her.

"You can't promise something like that, Brittany." Santana choked out. "I've lost enough people in my life, I can't lose you too."

Brittany quickly shuffled forward and wrapped the Latina up in her arms, holding Santana tightly as she quietly wept into her chest until she managed to cry herself to sleep.

...

Santana stirred and nestled her head further into the soft surface underneath her.

Her eyes popped open when she heard chuckling and looked up to see Brittany attempting to eat soup from a small bowl. "Hey San." Brittany smiled and momentarily set down her spoon. "How are you feeling?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." Santana chuckled and leaned forward to kiss the blonde softly. "Are you ok, Britt? Any pain?" She asked once the kiss broke, her eyebrows furrowed together with worry.

Brittany shrugged and moved the spoon back to her lips. "My neck is a little sore, but not completely awful considering the amount of medication the doctor gave me."

"Ok." Santana nodded and brought her hand up to wipe some of Brittany's hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"Who did you lose?" Brittany asked after a few moments of silence, remembering their earlier conversation.

Santana instantly tensed up as soon as the words left the blonde's mouth. "No one." She attempted to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "It's not important."

Brittany frowned and moved her dinner tray off of her lap, setting it on the bedside table. "Do you not trust me enough?" She whispered, trying not to sound too hurt by Santana's actions.

"Brittany... of course I do. I just- I'm not ready to talk about that yet." Santana said in a softer tone, and shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry." Her eyes fell, almost guiltily.

"Don't apologize. I'm not going to push you to tell me anything you don't want to." Brittany stated, while tangling her fingers with the Latina's in the process.

"I want to, just not yet." Santana clarified, bringing their entangled hands up to her lips and kissed Brittany's knuckles softly. "I'll tell you everything one day, Brittany. You just have to be patient with me."

"I can wait Santana, I'll wait for as long as you need." Brittany smiled. "Don't worry your pretty little head about that." She winked, before kissing Santana's forehead.

Brittany pulled back when she felt Santana's forehead scrunch together, because she knew it meant she was frowning. "What's wrong?"

"What are we, Brittany?" Santana asked quietly, her eyes never meeting the blonde's. "I mean, are we dating or- I don't know?"

"Well." Brittany started, "Do you want us to be dating?" She questioned, cocking her head to the side while waiting for Santana to respond.

Santana chewed on her bottom lip, and Brittany could practically see the wheels turning in her head. "San, we don't have to be if-"

"Yes."

"What?" Brittany asked with slight surprise, not expecting that answer.

"Yes, I want us to be dating." Santana clarified. "I haven't felt this way about anyone in a long time, so yes, I want to date you Brittany."

"Really?" Brittany grinned widely, not being able to contain it.

Santana chuckled and nodded. "Really."

Brittany didn't respond verbally, and instead just continued to smile at the brunette in front of her. "What, do you not want to date me now?" Santana teased, watching the blonde's facial expressions change drastically from happiness to shock.

"No! No of course I do." Brittany stated quickly. "I'm just, really happy." She admitted shyly, smiling sheepishly at Santana, who was grinning back at her.

"I am too." Santana trailed her finger up Brittany's arm, stopping when she was only a few inches from her shoulder, and began to mindlessly trace different shapes. "It's weird, I never thought I'd find someone like you." She stated, her finger continuing it's ministrations.

"Someone like me?" Brittany raised a brow, urging for her to continue.

"Yeah." Santana nodded and looked away from the blonde's arm, gazing into her curious blue eyes. "Someone to watch those cheesy chick flicks with or take out to dinner. Someone to go on lame dates with, then laugh at how lame they are because we're both dorks but we love spending time together. Someone to fall asleep with at night and wake up with the next morning, not sneaking out of an apartment after having a night of mindless, drunken sex. You mean so much more than that to me Brittany, and I hope to have a lot of firsts with you."

Instead of responding, Brittany placed her hand on the nape of Santana's neck and pulled her down into a passionate kiss, expressing all over feelings without words. "I want all of that with you too, Santana." She said once the kiss broke. "You have no idea how much."

"I think I may have an idea by that kiss." Santana chuckled, and Brittany ducked her head to hide her blush.

"I really like your lips." Brittany shrugged, using that statement to defend herself.

"Well, I'm glad." Santana smiled. "You'll be spending a lot of time with them, I would hope."

"I definitely will be." Brittany returned the smile, surprised at surge of happiness she was feeling at this moment. She never wanted it to go away.

...

**Three days later- 12pm**

"Pierce! We've missed you!" Puck exclaimed, once the blonde walked into the station in her usual uniform.

"It's only been a few days, Puckerman." She pointed out, but returned the hug Puck was going in for anyways.

"A few days too many. The station is dead without you." He shook his head. "Will's been constantly up our ass since you haven't been here, more so mine than anyone else's. He thinks it's my fault for what happened."

"Puck, you know that isn't true. I appreciate what you did, so so much. I could have died if you weren't there to stop the guy." Brittany leaned up to kiss his cheek softly. "So, thank you." She smiled, before heading back to her office.

"Britt, girl what happened? No one will tell me anything." Mercedes asked, moving from her spot on one of the chairs in the blonde's office to stand in front of her. "I tried asking Puckerman, but he quickly shut me down. All I know is that you've been in the hospital for the past couple days, and I've been here worried sick."

"Sorry Cedes." Brittany bit her bottom lip and went to take a seat at her desk, setting down her bag to start up her computer. "I had a little problem with one of our suspects.

"What kind of problem?" Mercedes arched a brow.

"He may have had a nice and possibly could've used it on my neck." Brittany shrugged, preparing herself for Mercedes to scold her.

"So that's where your battle scar came from?" Mercedes shook her head and pointed to the stitches. "Damn.."

"It definitely wasn't my finest moment." Brittany admitted. "I'm alright now though, it was just a little cut."

Mercedes chuckled and sent the blonde a knowing look. "Mhmm, I highly doubt it was _just a little cut_."

The blonde laughed and took a sip from her water bottle. "You're right, as always."

"I know I am." Mercedes smirked and headed towards the door. "I haven't seen you in awhile though, we need to do something. Maybe hit up a club? I know it's been awhile for you, maybe a night out is exactly what you need. Oh, and you can bring your girl." She added with a wink.

"Maybe. I'll keep you posted on that one, Cedes."

"Alright Britt, I'll talk to you later." Mercedes waved, before leaving the office.

"Bye!" Brittany called after her, before starting to shuffle through her paperwork and attempt to get caught up on everything she missed over the past couple days.

A few hours later, there was a knock on Brittany's door and she sighed, before setting down her pen and calling for them to come in.

"Pierce, you have a visitor." Puck informed her, poking his head through her office door.

Brittany looked away from the paperwork that took up most of her desk and frowned. "Who?"

Puck moved out of the way and allowed Santana to walk through, who was wearing a loose white long-sleeved shirt and yoga pants, her hair pulled up into a messy bun.

"San? What are you doing here?" Brittany smiled, the surprise evident in her voice.

"I wanted to stop by and see you. Oh, and I brought you lunch." She stated, holding up the brown paper bag for the blonde to see.

Brittany smiled adoringly at Santana, before realizing Puck was still in the room and cleared her throat. "You can go now, Puckerman."

"Alright Pierce." Puck winked and glanced at Santana, before exiting the office and closing the door behind him.

Brittany swirled around in her chair and patted her lap, setting her reading glasses on her desk. "Come sit."

Santana smirked and set the paper bag and her purse down in one of the chairs, then made her way around Brittany's large desk to take the inviting spot on her lap. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and leaned forward, connecting their lips in a sensual kiss.

Brittany gently sucked on Santana's bottom lip, causing her to moan softly into the kiss, and repeated her actions to hear that sound over and over again. Santana shifted her body so that she was straddling the blonde and placed both of her hands on either side of her face, roughly pulling her closer to slip her tongue inside of Brittany's mouth hungrily.

"Baby..." Santana whimpered when Brittany brought her hands up to knead her breasts softly. "Not here." She said, placing her hands on top of the blonde's.

Brittany licked her lips and grinned shyly before pulling her hands back, making sure to gently brush over Santana's erect nipples in the process, loving the way she gasped at the contact.

"Sorry." Brittany smiled sheepishly, resting her hands on Santana's waist.

"No you're not." Santana chuckled and nuzzled her nose in the crook of Brittany's neck. "I am so ridiculously turned on right now." She whined.

"Are you?" Brittany raised a brow, almost in a challenging way. "Prove it."

Santana arched a brow and smirked, scooting back on the blonde's lap far enough to slip her hand inside the waist band of her yoga pants. Brittany's eyes widened as she watched the Latina's hand like a hawk, almost choking when she saw exactly where her hand was.

Santana threw her head back in pleasure and sighed, brushing her fingers over the wet material of her underwear, before carefully moving it aside to run a finger through her drenched folds.

"Oh my god.." Brittany whispered when Santana pulled her hand out of her pants and held it up to the blonde's mouth, her smirk never faltering.

Brittany quickly complied and opened her mouth, taking Santana's finger in her mouth to suck off her juices, immediately moaning at the taste.

"Well now I want more." Brittany pouted, earning a hearty laugh from the Latina.

"As much as I would love for you to take me on your desk right now, which I think would be incredibly sexy by the way, it's not the time or place." Santana smiled apologetically and tangled her fingers in Brittany's long hair. "But when it is the time and place, I can't wait to come in your mouth." She breathed against Brittany's ear.

"Santana." Brittany groaned and hid her face in her hands. "Please stop."

"Sorry Britt-Britt." Santana grinned with a spark of mischief in her eyes. "Sometimes I get a little carried away..."

"A little?" Brittany snorted and shook her head. "Such a tease." She stated, playfully glaring at the Latina.

Santana opened her mouth to respond, right as Sam bursted into Brittany's office, causing her to practically throw Santana off of her lap.

"Pierce, we think our guy kidnapped his next victim." Sam stated. "A woman outside is asking to speak with you, she says her friend was taken by a man dressed in an all black suit, but his face was covered. She has a black eye from where he hit her, but that's the only evidence we have right now."

"Let me talk to her." Brittany frowned, and leaned down to help Santana up. "I'm sorry, San." She whispered in her ear and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, before leading them out of the office and out onto the main floor.

"She's right over there." Sam pointed towards a bench near the entrance, and both Santana and Brittany's mouths dropped at the familiar looking blonde.

"Quinn?"


	12. Chapter 12

**New chapter...**

**Enjoy :)**

**...**

"What's going on? Why are you here?" Santana's eyes widened. "Oh my god, where's Rachel?"

"I-I don't know." Quinn stuttered out, before falling into Santana's embrace. "I was only gone for a second, literally a second, and when I came back..." Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. "I'm sorry." She choked out.

"Shhh, it's ok Q. It's not your fault." Santana whispered, softly stroking the blonde's hair. "Come on babe, don't cry."

Quinn pulled away from Santana's arms and sniffled, carefully wiping away her tears. "I have the car's license plate number if you think that might help. Whatever I can do, just let me know." She said softly.

"You can start by explaining exactly what happened to Detective Evans, keep in mind that every little detail matters. I'll get that tag number to Mercedes and try to find a match." Brittany glanced at Sam over her shoulder. "Sam, tell Puckerman to get the car ready. We need to start a search, Rachel could be anywhere by now." She ordered. "Luckily it hasn't been that long since she was taken, so there's a good chance she's still in Manhattan."

"Um, no." Santana frowned and grabbed the blonde's forearm. "You're not going anywhere. The doctor told you to stay out of any physical activity that could harm your neck for the next few weeks. You shouldn't have even been discharged so soon, but since you agreed to only come to work when you have to be office, they released you."

Brittany sighed and placed her hand on top of the Latina's, loosening her grip. "Santana I can handle myself, I'm a big girl."

"You're an _injured_ girl, and you must be out of your mind if you think I'm gonna let you go out there after what happened." Santana snapped. "You're not doing that to me again, I can't lose you." She added quietly and wrapped her arms tightly around herself, thinking back to when she had found out about Brittany being taken to the hospital.

_"Santana." Rachel said calmly as she took a seat next to the Latina on their couch. "Santana... something happened."_

_"What, did one of your favorite gay Broadway plays come back for a revival, only to be shut down last minute because no one would buy tickets except for you and Lady Hummel?" Santana asked while keeping her eyes on the tv, missing Rachel's subtle eye roll._

_"No." Rachel sighed and placed her hand on Santana's thigh, causing the Latina to look up with a frown and swat the smaller woman's hand away._

_"Stop trying to feel me up Berry, you know I'm taken." Santana smirked, moving to the opposite end of the couch. "If you wanted up on this you should've done it a few months ago when I was into shorter girls."_

_"Santana, Brittany's hurt." Rachel snapped, wanting to get to the point before Santana had the chance to come up with another insult that had to do with Broadway or her height. _

_"W-what?" Rachel's heart broke slightly at the sight of Santana's face dropping and her eyes turning a bright shade of pink. "No she's not. In fact, she should be on her way over here right now." She smiled weakly and moved to stand up, but Rachel quickly stopped her._

_"Brittany's in the hospital right now, San. She was injured pretty badly with a knife and she hit her head on the concrete when she fell, so right now she's not responding to anything. We need to go." Rachel explained softly, looking deep into Santana's sad and confused eyes. "Finn just called me and said they're on their way now."_

_"I'm coming." Quinn said quickly while walking into the room and tossing a hoodie on, before heading to the door. "Brittany's my friend too. Well, kind of." She shrugged._

_"We don't have to go if you don't want to, Santana. We can stay here and wait until we hear anymore news." Rachel told her in a softer tone as she rested her hand on the small of the Latina's back. _

_"No." Santana shook her head. "We need to go, I need to make sure Brittany's ok." She said shakily. _

_"Ok, then." The blonde opened their apartment's door and smoothed her hair back into a ponytail. "Let's go."_

_"I'm sure she'll be fine, Santana." Rachel gave her a reassuring smile and followed her out of the apartment_

"San, we already talked about this." Brittany brought her hand up and moved a few stray hairs out of the Latina's face, pulling Santana out of her thoughts. "This is my job, baby. It involves guns and murders, that's just how it is. I catch the bad guys and put them away to keep this place safer, to keep you safe." She pressed her lips to Santana's forehead and let them linger for a little while longer, before pulling away. "You won't lose me."

"Ok." Santana nodded and looked to Quinn, who was talking to Sam. "But you still shouldn't be involved in this search, Brittany. You can work from here. Your neck is nowhere near finished healing baby, you need to rest." She stated sternly.

"Santana..."

"Brittany." Santana narrowed her eyes at the blonde, daring her to keep arguing.

"Fine."

"You are not- wait what?" Santana paused and cocked her head to the side. "You're not gonna go?" She asked with a smile.

Brittany shook her head and motioned for Sam to come over. "Not if it makes you this upset." She looked to Sam. "Can you handle this search with Puckerman, or do I need to get someone else?"

"I can handle it." Sam quickly nodded.

"Ok." Brittany took a deep breath and looked directly into the man's eyes. "I'm counting on you Evans. Don't mess this up."

"Don't worry, I won't." Sam gave her a smile, before heading back over to Puck's desk.

"Thank you." Santana smiled and pecked the blonde's cheek.

"Anytime." Brittany winked and brought the smaller woman in for a hug. "I'm gonna hang back here and check out this license's plate. If we can find the owner of the car, it'll lead us closer to Rachel."

Santana nodded and pulled away. "Call me later, ok?"

"Of course." Brittany leaned forward to kiss the Latina softly. "Get home safely."

"I will."

...

**9pm**

"Someone's at the door." Quinn yelled from the kitchen where she was making dinner.

"I know." Santana called back right as she opened the door, her eyes narrowing at the women standing in front of her. "What the fuck are you doing here?" She practically growled.

"Now is that the way to talk to your little sister Santana?" Gia smiled wickedly and went to take a step inside the apartment, but Santana quickly blocked her.

"You're not coming in." Santana snapped, stepping into the hallway and quietly closing the door behind her.

"Fine, we can talk out here." Gia shrugged and leaned back against the wall. "How have you been?"

"Cut the bullshit and tell me why you're really here." Santana glared. "You wouldn't drop everything and move to New York City without a good reason."

"I'm not here to mess with you, Santana." Gia said softly. "Abuela's sick." She informed her, mindless twirling a strand of her long hair.

Santana frowned and took a step back. "What?"

"She's dying. Her cancer came back and they caught it too late." She sighed while pulling a small envelope out of her purse. "She wanted me to give you this. No, I didn't read it so I have no idea what it says."

Santana eyed the letter carefully and hesitantly took it from Gia's hand.

"Mami and Papi have already began to prepare funeral arrangements." Santana tensed at the mention of her parents and slowly nodded. "You probably don't want to go, and I really don't blame you, but it would be nice if you were there."

"Santana?" Quinn frowned and poked her head through the door, her eyes widened with surprise at the sight of their unexpected guest. "Gia?"

"Hello Quinn." Gia smiled, her first genuine smile since Santana had seen her when she was buying groceries a couple weeks ago. "I was just going, I'll see you later Santana." She said, before stepping into the elevator that an elderly couple was walking out of.

"What the hell was that?" Quinn frowned and looked to Santana, who was still staring at the envelope in her hands.

"Nothing important." Santana mumbled, folding the paper up and sticking it in her pocket. "Come on, I'm hungry." She forced smile and dragged the blonde back into their apartment.

...

The next day, Brittany and Santana were cuddled up in Santana's bed as an old Disney moving playing on the tv in front of them.

Santana's head was resting on Brittany's chest with her arm wrapped around the blonde's waist, while Brittany had her arm wrapped tightly around the Latina's shoulder, her free hand resting on top of Santana's in her lap.

"Are you ok?" Brittany asked softly, trailing her finger up and down Santana's arm.

"Fine." Santana answered shortly. "Just tired."

"Santana..."

"Brittany."

Brittany sighed and reached around Santana's small frame to grab the remote off of the bedside table, immediately muting the tv.

"Talk to me, San. Let me in that pretty head of yours." Brittany whispered into the Latina's dark hair, gently smoothing it back as she spoke.

"I'm trying." Santana admitted softly and somewhat broken. "I told you that you have to be patient with me."

"And I completely respect that. But something's bothering you, I can see it in your eyes and the way you've been acting all day. What's going on?" Brittany ducked her to meet Santana's sad and tired eyes.

Santana chewed on her bottom lip and stayed quiet for several moments, before meeting Brittany's worried gaze. "My abuela...she's really sick. I want to go visit her and get a chance to say goodbye, but it's a difficult situation." She attempted to explain with furrowed brows.

"What makes the situation difficult?" Brittany asked softly, continuing to trail her finger up and down a caramel arm.

"She-she doesn't accept the fact that I'm a lesbian, and I haven't spoken to her since my senior year of high school. Along with the rest of my family." Santana said sadly, looking up at the ceiling to blink away her tears.

"Is that what happened between you and your parents?" Brittany asked gently, resting her chin on top of Santana's head.

"No, that's only a small part in everything that went down. I guess it was kind of like the last thing that pushed them over the edge." Santana shrugged.

Brittany nodded as if she understood. "How did they find out?"

_Eighteen year old Santana stood nervously outside the opening to the living room, racking her brain for any last minute changes to what she was about to tell her parents. Ever since Sue had told her about Reggie "The Sauce" Salzar's newest campaign ad, she had become a nervous wreck. Knowing her parents were very religious people, since she had grown up in a catholic home, she couldn't think of any way for this situation not to go badly._

_She slowly entered the spacious room, where her mother was sitting on the suede couch, one leg crossed over the other, casually sipping a glass of champagne. Her father was leaning back in his chair across from Mrs. Lopez, wearing black slacks and a white buttoned up shirt, reading the newspaper as he did every evening._

_"Mami, Papi, I need to tell you something." Santana said softly, unconsciously wringing her wrists behind her back._

_"What is it?" Her mother asked, setting her glass down on the smooth surface of the hardwood table in front of her._

_Santana opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. After several moments of silence, her father looked up from his newspaper and at his daughter with a raised brow. "Spit it out Santana, we don't have all night."_

_"I-" Santana began, but was immediately cut off by something that twisted her stomach in the worst possible way. The ad campaign playing on the large flat screen tv in the background._

_**"-If you're so into family values, why did you promote a lesbian student to be your head cheerleader, and when did you plan on telling Ohio families? Also, why don't you have a husband Sue? Is there something you're not telling us? Sue Sylvester, so many questions."**_

_Once the commercial ended and the tv show that was previously on resumed, everyone sat in a complete silence that made Santana's stomach drop._

_Mr. Lopez leaned forward from his seat to grab the remote off of the table and immediately shut the tv off. He let out a long exhale and turned to face Mrs. Lopez, who wore a blank expression. __"Maribel, call our lawyer. Spreading disgusting lies like this will look bad for our image, we don't need that kind of scandal in this family." He stated sternly, before going back to his newspaper. "Hopefully my colleagues at the hospital won't hear about this."_

_Santana cleared her throat and sighed shakily. "It's not a lie." She said, just barely above a whisper._

_"Excuse me?" Mr. Lopez replied lowly. He folded the newspaper and tossed it on the table, then walked over to his daughter. Santana shrunk under her father's threatening glare, and couldn't help but wish she was anywhere else at that moment. "What did you just say to me?"_

_"I said, it's not a lie." Santana repeated, more confidently this time. "I'm gay."_

_Mr. Lopez stayed silent, his eyes scanning over the younger Latina's face, before chuckling and shaking his head. "No you're not." He straightened out the collar on his shirt and smiled. "You're going to get married to a nice, successful man and give us beautiful grandchildren."_

_Santana allowed the tears that she had been holding in to spill over and fall down her cheeks, as she looked into her father's dark and empty eyes. "It's true, Papi. I'm a les-"_

_Santana stumbled back and hit the the wall behind her forcefully, causing the expensive paintings her mother loved to come crashing down. __She cried out in pain and desperately clutched the throbbing side of her face, looking up to meet her father's harsh glare. It wasn't until she noticed his hand was still raised and slightly more red than it should have been, that she realized what had happened._

_He hit her._

_"After everything your mother and I have done for you, this is how you repay us? By-by becoming this filth? Who the hell do you think your are?" Mr. Lopez's deep voice boomed through the Lopez mansion. "I will not have this disgusting thing in my house, get out! Take your sinful actions elsewhere!"_

_"Papi..." Santana whimpered, but was quickly cut off._

_"Did you not hear me the first time girl? OUT!" He growled and took a step closer, so that he was now towering over his daughter. Santana took the chance to glance at her mother, who just sadly shook her head and looked away._

_It was then that Santana didn't know what hurt more, being hit by her father or her mother watching and doing nothing._

"Baby..." Brittany whispered and tightened her arms around Santana's small frame when she felt the wetness began to pool on her neck. "I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault." Santana mumbled, tightening her hold around the blonde's waist. "It's not your fault my parents are ignorant fucks."

"He hit you." Brittany pulled the Latina closer to her chest and kissed the top of her head. "He put his fucking hands on you." She snapped angrily, feeling the rage began to build up in her body.

"Britt... don't cry baby." Santana sighed and gently wiped the blonde's tears away. "It was a long time ago, and it didn't even hurt that badly."

"He can't put his hands on you like that, Santana. That's child abuse." Brittany said softly. "You were a minor when that happened, and it's not ok."

Santana tilted her head up to connect her lips with Brittany's, pouring all of her emotions into the kiss.

"It's ok. I'm ok, and I wasn't alone. Quinn let me stay with her for the remaining few weeks we had left of our senior year, before we went off to college." She stated once the kiss broke.

"How did you pay for college?" Brittany frowned.

"I had a scholarship to NYU. I used student loans for the first year and a half, before my parents decided to start sending me money. I wouldn't accept it at first, but Quinn finally talked me into it as the student loans began to pile up." Santana explained and rested her head back onto the blonde's chest. "They cut me back on and reactivated my credit card, which I never use unless it's an emergency."

"So they bought your apartment." Brittany stated knowingly, using her fingers to comb through the Latina's hair.

"Yeah, but they had already bought it before everything went down and just decided to let me keep it." Santana shrugged. "I guess I got lucky or else I would be homeless."

"Quinn's mother would have helped you out, you know that." Brittany said while rubbing Santana's sides.

"I know. But I didn't feel comfortable with taking their money." Santana shook her head. "Ms. Fabray was more of a mother to me than mine had been in a long time. After my brother died, they wouldn't have anything to do with me or Gia."

"Gia?" Brittany scrunched up her face at the unfamiliar name.

"My sister. She's four years younger than me." Santana informed her, before placing a soft kiss against Brittany's collarbone.

"Wait, your brother died?" Brittany's eyes widened. "Santana, why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't usually talk about my family, Britt." She said softly and toyed with the string of the blonde's shorts.

Brittany placed her hand under Santana's chin and gently tilted her head up to look into her eyes. "You know you can tell me anything right?"

"I do." Santana nodded. "I'm just, I'm not ready yet." She admitted quietly. "My brother was such an amazing guy Brittany, I wish you could've met him."

"I wish I could've too." Brittany sighed, noticing the sadness in her voice. "I-" she was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing.

"I've got to take this." Brittany kissed Santana's forehead before hopping off of the couch and heading into the dining room for more privacy. A minute later she returned to the living room while sliding her phone into her back pocket.

"Who was that?" Santana asked, looking up at the blonde.

"Schuester. I've got to head to the station, they think they might have found something on Rachel's kidnapper." Brittany said while pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "I'll call you if I find out any new information.

"Ok." Santana nodded. "Bye Britt, please don't work yourself too hard." She gave her a pointed look before kissing her softly.

"I won't, San." Brittany smiled, then headed out towards the door. "Get some sleep yourself, you look exhausted."

Santana chuckled and nodded. "You know me too well. Don't worry, I'll take a nap before Quinn gets back."

"Sleep tight, beautiful." Brittany winked and headed out the door, leaving Santana with a dopey smile on her face.

"I'm falling for such a dork." She mumbled to herself, before making herself comfortable on the couch and turning the tv on, watching an episode of Iron Chef. It was only 15 minutes into the episode when she fell asleep.

...

**11:30pm **

Santana's eyes popped open when she heard loud knocking coming from the door. She sighed and smoothed out her hair before sitting up, then frowned at her surroundings. "I must've fallen asleep while watching tv." She mumbled to herself, pulling herself off of the couch and flipping the light switch on so she wouldn't run into anything. She tugged her tank top down which had ridden up and opened the door, surprised at who she saw on the other side.

"Brittany?" Santana furrowed her brows in confusion and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's almost midnight, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Quinn." Brittany stated.

Santana noticed the dark bags under the blonde's eyes and frowned at how exhausted she looked. "Have you been at work this whole time?"

Brittany sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Santana, I really need to talk to Quinn."

"Why?" Santana looked into Brittany's tired blue eyes. "What's going on?"

"Santana..."

"I'm not letting you talk to Quinn until you tell me what's going on, Brittany." Santana said sternly with a raised brow.

"The information she gave us, something isn't right. We've been going over it all day and nothing's adding up." Brittany explained. "We think that Quinn isn't telling the complete truth."

"Quinn wouldn't lie about something like that, Brittany." Santana frowned, continuing to hold her place against the door.

"Santana." Brittany sighed tiredly. "My orders are to bring her down to the station so Will can ask her a few questions. You have to admit that there's something sketchy going on with this situation, and it starts with Quinn's description of this mysterious man and the situation."

Santana shook her head. "No Brittany, you're not taking Quinn."

Brittany let out a long exhale and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I really don't want to have to come in there and get her myself Santana, but I will if I have to. Or I can call Puck for backup, who's waiting outside."

"You can't fucking do that." Santana snapped angrily, narrowing her eyes dangerously at the blonde. "She's my best friend." She added in a softer, sadder tone.

"Baby...please." Brittany opened her arms, which Santana fell gladly into and nuzzled her face in the crook of the blonde's neck as she let out a shaky breath. "If we can get more information out of Quinn, it'll put us that much closer to finding Rachel. You want that right?"

"Of course I do." Santana mumbled into Brittany's neck. "Quinn isn't guilty of anything, Britt. Please believe that." She pleaded, attempting to convince herself more than the blonde.

"I hope she isn't either, San. But we won't know until I'm able to get her down to the station." Brittany explained while softly rubbing Santana's back.

"Ok." Santana whispered and slowly pulled away, allowing Brittany to come into the apartment.

Brittany gave her a soft kiss to the forehead before moving through the living room and towards the back where Quinn's bedroom was located.

She gently tapped her knuckles against the smooth surface of the door, frowning when all she heard was silence coming from the other side. "Quinn?" She called out, twisting the doorknob and poking her head inside. "Santana, Quinn isn't here."

"What?" Santana frowned and walked into blonde's bedroom. "She has to be, she never left. I would know if she had, I've been in the living room all evening."

Brittany glanced over her shoulder at Santana. "Did she ever come home?"

"Yeah, around 8. She changed and made herself one of those microwaveable meals we have in the freezer, before going back to her room." Santana explained, racking her brain for anymore information.

"Were you asleep before I got here?"

"Shit..."

Brittany sighed and pulled out her phone, scrolling to Puck's name in her contacts. "So now the new question is, where's Quinn?"


	13. Chapter 13

**New chapter, because why not?**

**...**

"I don't know where she could be." Santana sighed and took a seat on Quinn's bed, her eyes mindlessly scanning over the room.

"Are you sure?" Brittany asked with a frown.

"Of course I'm sure, why would I know where she is?" Santana snapped, a little too defensively for Brittany's liking. "I don't have a damn tracking device on her."

Brittany sighed and smoothed out her disheveled hair, before looking into the Latina's stormy eyes. "Santana, I know." She stated quietly, knowing the Latina knew exactly what she was talking about by the way Santana immediately tensed and looked away.

"And I think you know by now, that Quinn's in some _deep_ shit." Brittany added bluntly. "Something I don't think can be fixed easily."

"It's not Quinn's fault." Santana said slowly and shook her head. "None of this is Quinn's fault."

"Then who's fault is it?" The blonde walked over to the room's large window and pushed aside the curtains, taking in a beautiful view of the New York City skyline. "Because right now, the only thing we have going for us is Quinn's lies and the conversation I heard between the two of you the other night."

_"Quinn." Santana whispered harshly, pulling the blonde into the kitchen so that they wouldn't wake up Brittany, who had fallen asleep on the couch. "What the hell is going on with you?"_

_"Nothing." Quinn replied calmly and loosened Santana's hold on her wrist. "I'm fine."_

_"Yeah, ok." Santana scoffed. "Where the hell do you keep disappearing to every day?"_

_"I told you I've been meeting up with Mr. Jackson to view the new space for our bakery." Quinn stated with a frown._

_"Bullshit. I just talked to him twenty minutes ago and he told me he hasn't seen any of us since that meeting in his office last week." Santana snapped._

_"Oh..." Quinn breathed out and averted her eyes to the floor._

_"Oh is right, you better start talking right the fuck now Fabray." The Latina hissed out. "What's going on?"_

_"I can't tell you." Quinn said softly._

_"Hell if you can't." Santana whispered lowly and took a step closer to the blonde. "Quinn...I need to know what's been going on with you lately."_

_"I did something bad, Santana." Quinn's eyes began to water. "But I really didn't have a choice."_

_Santana's glare faltered and her eyes softened. "What happened, Q?" _

_"Yasmine Sanchez, remember when you found her in that alley?" Quinn asked shakily._

_Santana nodded. "Yeah, of course I do."_

_"About twenty minutes before you left, I went through the back door to take the trash out, like I usually do around the evening. I was halfway there when I saw it happen." Quinn bit her lip as tears cascaded down her face. "He saw me and dropped her, for a second I thought he was just going to run, because that's what killers usually do when they're caught, but he didn't. Instead he came up to me and handed me the knife. He told me to wash the evidence off and get rid of it. I was so shocked that I couldn't say anything, I just kind of stood there." She paused and took the chance to glance at Santana, who was hanging on to every word that came out of her mouth. "He said 'hey blondie, can't you hear? I said get rid of it.' and somehow managed to knock me out of my daze, then told me that now that I witnessed it, I was on his side and threatened to kill you if I ever told."_

_"Me?" Santana squeaked, not expecting that at all. "Why the fuck does he want to kill me? I haven't done anything." _

_"I don't know." Quinn shook her head sadly._

_"But I don't understand, you seemed perfectly fine when you came back." Santana pointed out with a small frown. _

_"Of course I seemed fine, I wasn't going to say anything." Quinn averted her eyes to the floor. "I did a pretty damn good job hiding it too, didn't I?" She let out a bitter laugh. _

_"Quinn, what the hell are you going to do?" Santana sighed and roughly ran her fingers through her hair. "We have to turn this guy in."_

_"Santana, no." Quinn's face darkened and she took a step away from the Latina. "No. I won't threaten your life like that."_

_"If you don't turn him in then you're threatening every innocent person's life, which is more important than just mine. Two innocent women have already lost their lives because of this." Santana snapped angrily. "Who's the guy that's been doing this, huh? Who is it Quinn?"_

_"I don't know." Quinn admitted honestly. "I swear I don't. Every time I've seen him he's worn a ski mask." _

_"Every time?" Santana repeated with a groan. "Quinn, how many times have you seen this person?" __Quinn stayed silent, and Santana just shook her head. "Dear God..."_

_"You can't tell anyone. Promise me you won't, Santana. I'll get this figured out." Quinn stated quietly. "I can fix this, I just need some more time." _

_"Quinn..."_

_"Santana, please." The blonde's voice was so desperate and Santana couldn't take it. _

_"Ok." She breathed out and squeezed her eyes shut. "Just please, please don't get yourself hurt." _

_"I won't." Quinn wrapped her arms around Santana's smaller frame and pulled her close. "Thank you." She whispered in her ear._

"I thought you were asleep." Santana said softly.

"I wasn't." Brittany smiled sadly at Santana. "I don't know if that was a good thing or bad thing."

Santana sighed. "I don't either."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Santana." Brittany's tone turned serious. "Knowing about information like this and not telling me could put you in just as much trouble as Quinn."

Santana bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. "I know."

"I'm going to make sure nothing bad happens to you, though. You know that right?" Brittany's eyes were so soft and warm that it made Santana's heart swell. "I'll do everything I can."

"I appreciate that, Brittany." Santana blinked her tears away. "I really do."

Brittany closed the remaining distance between her and Santana, leaning down to capture soft lips with her own. Santana was the first to pull away, attempting to wipe away some of the wetness from her eyes, before resting her head on Brittany's shoulder.

"It's not Quinn's fault." Santana whispered into Brittany's neck. "She witnessed a murder and he threatened her."

"I know baby." Brittany sighed and used her left hand to comb through Santana's dark locks, while the other rested on her waist. "I'll do everything I can for the both of you, ok? But you're my main priority."

Brittany felt Santana nod and heard a sniffle. "Ok."

"Do you trust me?" Brittany asked carefully, chewing on her bottom lip as she waited for an answer.

Santana pulled away and gazed up into Brittany's ocean blue eyes. "Yes."

The corners of Brittany's mouth tugged upwards into a small smile, before quickly disappearing. "We need to go down to the station and explain this to Schuester."

"Will he arrest me?" Santana asked in a small voice, looking more vulnerable than the blonde has ever seen her.

"No." Brittany responded firmly. "I won't let him."

"Britt..." Santana's voice was hesitant and she frowned. "I don't think you can control that."

Brittany shrugged and offered the Latina her hand. "You said you trusted me, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then trust me, Santana." Brittany took Santana's hand in her own and gently tugged her towards the door. "If anyone could help you right now, it would be me. I'm on your side, remember that."

...

"Ms. Lopez, nice to see you." Will said with a raised brow when he saw the two walking into his office.

Santana nodded her head in acknowledgement, and followed Brittany's lead by taking a seat in the chair next to her.

"We have a problem, Schuester." Brittany stated with a stoic face.

Will frowned and tilted his head to the side. "Ok, what is it?"

Brittany shifted in her seat before answering. "We can't find Quinn."

Will's frown deepened and he let out a long exhale. "And how did you lose Ms. Fabray?"

"We didn't lose her." Santana quickly defended herself and Brittany. "She's just...gone."

"Just gone? Is that so?" Will sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "We've been working too hard on this case to lose the biggest piece of evidence we have, ladies." he shook his head. "Brittany, I was counting on you."

"This isn't Brittany's fault." Santana snapped angrily. "I don't know what Quinn's intentions are right now, but obviously she's planning something."

"What makes you think that?" Will asked curiously, urging for her to continue.

"She witnessed Yasmine Sanchez being murdered in that alley near our bakery, and the killer, whoever he was, threatened to kill me if she ever told." Santana sighed. "Now she's forced to be involved with these crimes. I don't know exactly what it is she's doing, but it can't be good."

Will's face darkened and he clenched his jaw. "She told you that?"

"She did." Santana stated firmly. "And hopefully knowing this will help put this never ending nightmare to rest."

Will's face smoothed out and he gave her a tight smile. "Well, we should start a search on this soon. Two women that are related to the same case, disappearing within the same week doesn't happen everyday." He glanced to Santana. "You wouldn't know anything about their whereabouts, would you?"

"I've told you everything I know." Santana frowned.

Brittany glanced between the two and shook her head. "Santana's been a huge help with this case, all we need to do is find Quinn to get the last few pieces of information we need to bust this guy." She said confidently.

"You seem sure of yourself, Pierce." Will noted.

"I am." Brittany shrugged and stood up from her seat. "Santana and I are going down to speak with Puckerman, we'll start planning out this search."

Will nodded and wrote what looked like an address down on a piece of paper, before sliding it across his desk and closer to the blonde's reach. "I want you to check this place out sometime before the end of the week, it could possibly contain some useful clues. We're desperate at this point."

Brittany took the small piece of paper and tucked it in her pocket. "I'll head over there tomorrow." she stated while opening the office door and ushering Santana outside. "I'll keep you updated, Schuester."

"He didn't seem too happy about the information involving Quinn." Santana said after Brittany shut the door.

"He's never really _happy_." Brittany chuckled and led Santana towards the stairs. "I don't think he's laughed in years, to be honest."

Santana cracked a smile. "I'd believe it."

They walked down the staircase and back into the main area of the station. Brittany stopped abruptly before the reached the crowd and smirked at Santana.

"What?" Santana asked slowly, arching a brow at the blonde.

Brittany leaned down to the Latina's ear, letting her lips barely graze the shell. "You're so incredibly sexy when you get all defensive." She whispered, before pulling away and contiuning the walk, swaying her backside a little more than usual.

"_Oh_." Santana swallowed heavily and crossed her legs once she felt arousal shoot through her body. "Dammit Brittany." She scowled and followed the laughing blonde over to Puck's desk.

"Sup Pierce, Lopez." Puck acknowledged both women while leaning back in his seat. "How's it going ladies?"

"It's going." Brittany sighed and pulled up two chairs, giving one to Santana. "What's been going on with you, Puckerman? Anything new?"

Puck shook his head. "Same old, same old. This case has been a pain in my ass." Brittany hummed in agreement. "But on a more serious note, how's your neck? It looked pretty bad a few days ago."

"It's better. More sore than actual pain, which is good." Brittany informed him. "The doctor gave me prescription pills for whenever the pain flares up, but I haven't had to take one yet."

"That's good." Puck nodded.

"Oh Puckerman, I forgot to thank you for what you did. I could've died out there if you hadn't of gotten me help as soon as you did." Brittany smiled warmly at him. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime, Pierce. We're a family here, you know that." Puck shrugged. "I guess that means your kind of apart of the family too, since you're Pierce's girl." He winked at Santana.

"Well, I'm flattered." Santana rolled her eyes and chuckled. "You're not too bad yourself, Puckerman."

Puck laughed and shrugged again. "It kind of sucks though, that guy could've been a possible lead and now he's dead."

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Brittany said softly. "What else were you supposed to do? He was armed and he attacked me."

Puck opened his mouth to respond, right when a certain diva's voice interrupted him.

"You must be the infamous Santana Lopez I've been hearing so much about." Mercedes raised a brow at Brittany as she approached Puck's desk.

Santana glanced at Brittany before looking back to Mercedes with a nervous chuckle. "That's me."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Santana." Mercedes smiled and pulled up her own chair to sit in. "So tell me, how did you two meet?"

"You already know that Cedes, it was at the crime scene." Brittany chuckled and shook her head. "Not exactly the most romantic place in the world." She added sheepishly.

"I'm pretty sure she hated me at first." Santana grinned.

"You were hitting on me at a crime scene!" Brittany exclaimed while laughing.

Santana shrugged. "You're hot." She stated nonchalantly.

Brittany blushed and rolled her eyes. "Still, it was a crime scene Santana."

"Ok lovebirds." Mercedes chuckled, "Back to business. What is it I've heard about Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry disappearing?"

"It's the strangest thing." Brittany frowned. "Like, where did they go?"

"It seems suspicious to me." Puck sighed and took a sip from his water bottle.

Santana chose to stay silent and listen to the three discussing the situation.

"It's New York City, there's a million places to go. I honestly have no idea how Schuester plans on finding them." Puck stated doubtfully. "It's highly unlikely."

"Well let's start narrowing down our options, Santana you can help." Mercedes pulled a notepad and pen off of Puck's desk and set it in her lap. "Are there any specific places that Rachel and Quinn usually go?"

...

**Two hours later**

"We've been at this for hours." Puck sighed tiredly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "We're not getting anywhere. Let's just call it a night, it's raining and I'm ready to get some sleep."

"What about the license plate number, did you ever find a match Cedes?" Brittany quickly asked, glancing to the darker woman who simply shook her head.

"It was invalid. Either the girl wrote down the number wrong or purposely messed it up." Mercedes informed them.

"I just don't understand." Santana shook her head. "Quinn would never do something like this. She's always been a good girl, it took me forever until I pushed her to go to her first high school party junior year."

"Hell, I'd probably do it too if someone threatened to kill my bestfriend." Puck shrugged and leaned forward in his chair. "I can't say I blame her."

"Unless she lied about witnessing the murder too." Mercedes pointed out with an arched brow. "I'm not sure what to believe anymore."

Santana opened her mouth to defend Quinn, but Brittany quickly stopped her.

"Puck's right, it's getting late. Let let me take you home." Brittany offered with a small smile and slipped her hand into Santana's, intertwining their fingers.

"Ok." Santana nodded and gave a small squeeze to the blonde's hand.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, call me if you find anything new." Brittany called over her shoulder, before leading Santana outside to one of the police cars.

They were ten minutes down the road when Brittany's phone rang.

"Can you answer that for me?" She glanced at Santana. "Put it on speaker, please."

_**Pierce.**_

_Puckerman?_

_**I just received a call, I need you at Parsons street across from Marco's Italian restaurant. I can meet you there in about ten minutes.**_

Brittany frowned and looked to Santana, who just shrugged. _What's going on?_

_**Evans found Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray, one who is currently in a critical condition and should be taken to the hospital shortly.**_

A small gasp escaped from Santana's mouth as she looked to Brittany with wide eyes.

_We're on the way._

_..._

**Now don't automatically assume it's Quinn, or Santana, or Rachel, there's still more to come.**

**Also, yes there's a lot of drama & angst, because that's what type of story this is. If you don't like that combination, then you probably shouldn't read anymore lol **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So, there will probably be about 10-15 more chapters.** **There could possibly be a sequel... **

**In the meantime, check out my other stories: ****_Obsessed_****,****_ Beautiful Nightmare_****, and ****_It Took Me 10 Cities To Realize I Love You. _****_  
_**

**Also, I made a tumblr thing (** brittanafor3verr. tumblr .com**) so you can ask me questions & what not, or follow for more info. on my stories.**

**Lots of Brittana in this chapter, so enjoy :)**

...

"Evans, what's going on?" Brittany yelled over the sirens as she made her way to Sam, followed closely behind by Santana. She coughed a few times, the overwhelming smell of smoke invading her senses.

"Pierce, it's bad." Sam sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the paramedics. "We're trying to figure out where the explosion came from. We've got nothing so far."

"Whoa wait, explosion?" Brittany's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Puckerman didn't mention an explosion."

Sam opened his mouth to respond, but noticed Santana standing behind the blonde and quickly shut it. "Can I talk to you in private?" He asked quietly.

Brittany frowned and looked to Santana, who was scowling with her arms crossed over her chest. "Whatever you tell me, you can tell her. She's just as much involved in this case as I am."

Sam sighed and shook his head. "You don't understand, we already knew there was some bullshit going on with Fabray, right?" He said it loud enough for Brittany's ears but soft enough the keep it from getting to Santana.

Brittany nodded and he continued. "She states that she found Ms. Berry in the warehouse and was attempting to get her help, when the building exploded."

"I don't see a problem with that." Brittany shrugged.

"The thing is," Sam lowered his voice, "half of Ms. Berry's body is severely burned, while Ms. Fabray barely has a scratch."

Brittany furrowed her brows as she took in the information. "That's not even possible if she was anywhere near the building. Explosions not only affect things inside, but also within a certain perimeter."

"Exactly." Sam nodded. "I think Quinn Fabray may be our next suspect."

"Wait, what?" Santana quickly cut in, overhearing the last part. "No, Quinn's innocent. Sure she got herself into some deep shit, but she's getting it figured out."

"San-"

"Ms. Lopez, you can't be here." Will stated as he walked up to the three adults, wearing his usual stoic expression. "You need to leave, this is a private area."

"What?" Santana snapped. "Two of my best friends, who have been missing, were just found in a building that _exploded_. I'm not leaving." She said quickly.

Will shook his head and sighed. "Pierce, take care of this. I'm gonna talk to the paramedics and get more information on Rachel's condition. Hearing what happened from her could be a huge lead in this case." He stated, before nodding his head in acknowledgement to Sam and leaving.

"Fuck him." Santana spat and turned her eyes on Sam. "I want to see Rachel." She demanded.

"She's about to be taken to the hospital." Sam informed them. "If you leave now, you should arrive around the same time as the ambulance."

Brittany pulled her phone out of her back pocket and checked the time. "I'll take you." She offered, realizing how late it was.

"Ok." Santana dropped her glare and headed to the car, leaving Brittany to follow behind her.

Twenty minutes later, Santana and Brittany arrived at the hospital a little while after the ambulance. They quickly made their way inside and up to the front desk, requesting to see Rachel.

"I'm sorry, only immediate family members are allowed in the room right now." The woman at the desk said slowly, before going back to her computer.

Santana narrowed her eyes at the red-head and squeezed Brittany's hand, which was holding her own.

"Excuse me, but I'm an officer that's working on this case involving Ms. Berry. If she's awake, it's an order of mine to speak to her." Brittany stated while letting go of Santana's hand to point to her NYPD badge.

The woman looked hesitant and glanced at Santana. "What about her?"

"She's my assistant." Brittany said nonchalantly.

"I don't know..."

"Listen, I know that sometimes hair dye can seep through your skull and into your brain and make you a little slow, so I'm going to say this very clearly." Santana hissed out while taking a step forward and pointing her finger in the woman's face. "Rachel Berry has been my best friend for the better part of seven years now, so you telling me that I can't see her is _bullshit_."

"Santana." Brittany rested her hand on the small of the woman's back. "Calm down, honey." She said softly.

"No Britt, I'm fucking pissed." Santana snapped, her glare never faltering on the woman.

"She's in room 121." The woman rolled her eyes, paying no mind to Santana's outburst. "If anyone asks, I let you in because you're an officer, got it?" She gave Brittany a pointed look.

"Thank you." Brittany smiled gratefully, before leading her and Santana over towards the elevators.

Three floors later, the two of them walked down the busy hallway towards room 121. As they got closer, Santana's hold on Brittany's hand tightened.

"You ok?" Brittany asked quietly, glancing down at their joined hands.

"No." Santana admitted with a light chuckle. "I'm a fucking wreck."

Brittany laughed and placed a soft kiss on the brunette's forehead. "I'm here for you. Don't forget that."

"I won't." Santana sighed and stopped in front of the hospital room's door.

Brittany gave the Latina's hand an encouraging squeeze, which was enough for Santana to slowly open the door and walk inside.

"Rachel." Santana breathed out as tears welled up in her eyes. Half of the woman's face was wrapped up from the large amount of blood that came from the burn, and her left arm was elevated in a cast while both of her legs were wrapped from the knee and below.

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist, which allowed her to lean back into her embrace. "I had no idea it was this bad." She said quietly.

Santana sniffled and rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. "How did our lives get so fucked up?"

Brittany sighed and pressed her lips against dark hair. "I don't know."

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Santana asked quietly, almost as if she was scared to hear the answer.

"Hopefully soon." Brittany held the Latina tighter. "But there's no way of knowing. Kind of like when I was in the hospital, but my injury was nowhere near this severe."

A small _'oh_' came out of Santana's mouth and she let out a long exhale, but didn't say anything else.

"We'll come back as soon as she's stable." Brittany assured her in the softest of tones. "I promise we will. But there's not much we can do right now, San."

Santana nodded and removed the blonde's arms from her waist. "Can you give me a minute?" She asked, standing at Rachel's bedside.

"I'll be in the hall." Brittany smiled and glanced at Rachel one last time, before leaving the hospital room.

Santana took a seat on the edge of Rachel's bed, allowing her hand to ghost over the woman's injuries. "Well Berry, you always knew how to make something into a dramatic situation." She chuckled.

"I'm so, so sorry." Santana added quietly. "You shouldn't be here right now. Quinn shouldn't be a suspect in a murder case. We should be working on expanding our bakery into one of the most popular bakery's in New York City. It was always our plan." She smiled at that.

"I don't know if that plan is still relevant now." A few tears slid down her cheeks, but she made no effort to wipe them away. "Please wake up." She choked out and pulled her hand back, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "I need you, you're my family. I don't know what the fuck is going on with Quinn, but if she gets taken away from me, I can't lose you too." She was full-on crying now, to the point where she had to bring her hand to her chest in attempt to catch her breath.

Santana gasped in surprise when she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist. "Let's go home, baby." Brittany whispered, before gently kissing the Latina's cheek and helping her off of the bed. She carefully wiped her tears away with the pad of her thumb and intertwined their hands.

"Bye Rachel." Brittany called over her shoulder, before leading Santana out of the eerily silent room.

...

"San, are you hungry?" Brittany called from the kitchen where she was making a small dinner for the two of them. After getting back to Santana's apartment, the two showered, separately, before Brittany decided to fix them something light to eat.

Santana slowly walked into the small area and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist, resting her chin on her shoulder. "Not really." She admitted softly. "I haven't had an appetite all day."

"Santana...you have to eat baby." Brittany frowned and turned around in the smaller woman's arms, leaning down to kiss her gently. "Please eat something for me."

Santana nodded and glanced over the blonde's shoulder. "What are you making?" She asked, her eyes scanning over the ingredients Brittany had laying out.

"Grilled cheese and tomato soup. I figured we could make Oreo brownies for dessert, you haven't baked in awhile and I know you miss it." Brittany gave her a soft smile while motioning to the brownie mix and Oreos sitting by the refrigerator.

Santana smiled. "Thank you, Britt. You're right, I have missed it." She sighed while staring down at the floor with furrowed brows.

"Hey, look at me." Brittany commanded gently, lifting Santana's chin to look into her eyes. "You'll get your bakery back." She said, knowing exactly what the Latina was thinking.

"You don't know that..." Santana gave her a weary look and bit her bottom lip. "Rachel's in the hospital, Quinn's been at the police station all night, I just-"

"Baby." Brittany's voice cut off Santana's rambling, which she would've thought was adorable in a different situation. "We'll get it figured out, ok? I'll be here every step of the way. I'll even help you run it for awhile if I have to, but you're getting it back."

Instead of responding verbally, Santana sniffled and wrapped her arms around the blonde's torso while burying her face in the small space between her shoulder and neck. "What would I do without you?" It came out muffled since she was speaking into Brittany's neck, but the blonde understood perfectly.

Brittany shrugged. "Who knows?" She chuckled and rested her hands on Santana's waist. "Luckily I'm here so we so we won't have to find out."

Santana laughed and leaned up to kiss the tip of Brittany's nose affectionately. "I think the soup is about to burn, B."

"Oh shit." Brittany's eyes widened as she swiftly turned on her heels to turn off the oven. "I think it's safe." She smiled sheepishly.

"Let me taste it." Santana offered and took the large spoon from the blonde. She dipped the tip in and mixed it around, before blowing it off and bringing it to her lips. "It tastes fine, just add a little salt and pepper."

"Ok. The grilled cheese sandwiches are in the microwave, they finished a few minutes ago." Brittany stated while sprinkling in the salt. "Will you get two bowls out and set them out on the table?"

"Yeah." Santana nodded and opened the cabinets above her, taking out two white bowls and taking them to the living room. She went back to the kitchen and grabbed two smaller plates to put the grilled cheese on.

Brittany joined her a couple of minutes later with the skillet and carefully poured the soup in each of their bowls.

"Bon appetité." Brittany smiled and took a seat beside Santana, leaving a small amount of space between the two of them.

They mostly ate in silence, besides the small talk that Brittany kept attempting to make. She didn't push Santana, she understood that there was a lot on her mind. Choosing to sit in a tense silence seemed like a better idea.

"I guess I'll get going..." Brittany said softly once their bowls were washed and placed in the dishwasher. She went to grab her jacket off of the love seat, but Santana quickly stopped her.

"No, Britt." Santana shook her head, thinking about her next few words. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Brittany set down her jacket. "I'm just not sure what you want right now. I need you to talk to me and tell me, I can't read minds Santana."

"I know, I'm sorry I've been so difficult, I just-" She bit her lip and scratched the tip of her nose. "Can you just, hold me tonight?"

Brittany's expression softened and she nodded. "Of course, San. Bed?"

Santana nodded and led the blonde towards her bedroom in the back of the apartment. Santana closed her door and climbed into bed after Brittany, laying her head on her shoulder.

"Sing to me, B." She stated, toying with the hem of Brittany's shirt.

"You're better at singing then I am." Brittany pointed out with a light chuckle. "My voice isn't all that great."

"I don't sing much anymore." Santana admitted quietly.

Brittany stayed quiet for a few moments, waiting to see if Santana would say anything else. When she didn't, she pulled her closer so there was no space left between their bodies.

"What do you want me to sing?" The blonde asked while running her fingers through the Latina's hair.

Santana hummed and snuggled further into Brittany's chest. "What's your favorite song?"

"Umm..." Brittany's face turned slightly red. "Gold Digger."

Santana lifted her head to look at the blonde's face, and bursted into laughter when she realized that she was serious. "Brittany, are you serious?" She asked between giggles. "Kanye West?"

"I have a thing for rappers." Brittany shrugged. "But I can sing something else."

"Uh-uh, no way. Now that you've mentioned it, you have to rap it for me." Santana grinned and playfully poked the blonde's arm.

"Santana, seriously?" Brittany asked with an amused smile, just relieved that she was acting her usual self again.

Santana propped her elbows on either side of Brittany's head and smiling widely down into bright blue eyes.

Brittany chuckled and shook her head, before clearing her throat and deepening her voice.

_She take my money when I'm in need  
Yeah she's a trifling friend indeed  
Oh she's a gold digger way over town  
That digs on me  
_

Santana bit her lip to contain her laughter and continued watching the blonde with the biggest smile Brittany's ever seen. If rapping Kanye West made her this happy, Brittany would be more than willing to continue doing it.

_Now I ain't saying she a gold digger  
But she ain't messing with no broke, broke  
Now I ain't saying she a gold digger  
But she ain't messing with no broke, broke  
Get down girl go head get down  
Get down girl go head get down  
Get down girl go head get down  
Get down girl go head_

"I like your version better." Santana grinned. "I'm pretty sure that was the best thing I've ever heard in my life."

"Shut up." Brittany blushed slightly and smiled back. "Next time, you sing for me. Deal?"

"I don't know..."

"Please?" Brittany brought out her pout, and Santana knew she couldn't say no.

"I'll think about it." She decided on while resting her head back on the blonde's chest, right over her heart. "Goodnight Britt."

Brittany slipped her hand under the material of Santana's tank top and gently scratched her back. "Goodnight San. Sweet dreams."

...

**Two days later**

Santana rubbed her eyes tiredly before sliding her ray bans back over her eyes. Since Rachel was still in the hospital and Quinn was being held down at the station, she was in charge of everything involving Pezberry's new location. After choosing floor plans and wallpapers, she went to a two and a half hour meeting with Mr. Jackson to discuss a possible opening date.

Santana ran her fingers through her dark waves and tightened her hold on the Starbucks coffee in her right hand. She was halfway down the block when her phone rang. She stopped near a small thrift shop and pulled her iPhone out of her bag, smiling at the caller ID.

_Hey Britt, what's up?_

**_Can you meet me somewhere?_**

_Right now?_

_**Yeah, are you busy?**  
_

_Not at the moment. _Santana paused to glance at her watch._ I have about three hours until my next meeting though._

_**Perfect. Meet me in Central Park at 12:30?**_

_Where in Central Park?_

_**Umm, by the zoo? I want to take you somewhere.**_

_I guess I'll see you soon then. _Santana smiled and switched directions, so that she was heading the right way.

**_Bye, San._**

Fifteen minutes later, Santana spotted Brittany buying two small ice creams from a small cart near the entrance to the zoo.

Brittany's face lit up at the sight of the Latina and she thanked the man, before happily approaching Santana and handing her the pink and white ice cream. "You were talking about how you haven't had strawberry and vanilla ice cream since summer." She explained. "I thought it'd be fun for us to get some."

Santana chuckled. "Thanks Britt. Is this what you wanted to show me?" She asked with an amused smile.

"Nope. It's just a little something extra." Brittany winked and looped her arm through the Latina's. "I'm taking you somewhere that's really special to me. I used to bring my sister here when we were younger."

Santana glanced up at Brittany with surprise. "You grew up here?"

"Near here." The blonde shrugged as they continued down the path. "More like on the outskirts of the city."

"How was it growing up in New York?" Santana asked with a smile. When Brittany didn't answer, she looked up to meet her soft but solemn blue eyes. "I'm sorry, you don't-"

"My dad, he was an alcoholic. He wasn't a bad person, I never wanted to think he was, he just drank a lot." Brittany explained quietly. "We didn't have much money. My mom always wanted nicer things, she'd take the money that she was supposed to use to buy my sister and I new clothes and buy the newest Chanel bag, because she didn't want people knowing that we were struggling."

"I'm sorry." Santana repeated.

"She left when I was sixteen. It turned out she had been cheating on my dad for a few years with some doctor in the city. My dad was upset, and I think that's when his drinking problem got worse." She paused and took the chance to glance at Santana, who was watching her intently.

Santana moved her ice cream cone to her right hand, so that she could grab Brittany's hand with her left one. "What about your sister?"

Brittany closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. "She was murdered." She opened her eyes to look at the sky. "Her killer was never found. He's still out there somewhere."

"Oh Britt..." Santana breathed out and tightened her hold on the blonde's hand. "Do you have any idea who it was?"

"My dad." Brittany said without a beat, and Santana's eyes widened in surprise. "I know it was him, I saw him do it. That's why he disappeared." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I haven't seen him since."

"Is that why you became a cop?"

Brittany nodded and led Santana through the a small section of trees, a small smile appearing on her face when the duck pond came into view.

"We're feeding ducks?" Santana smiled and tossed her now-melted ice cream in the trash can.

"They're my favorite animal." Brittany admitted sheepishly and let go of her hand to pull out a Ziploc bag with four pieces of bread in it. She handed two slices to Santana and kept the other two for herself, before taking a seat on the small bench a few feet away from the pond.

Santana joined her and began tearing her bread into small pieces to toss at the ducks, who were now waddling towards them.

"You used to do this with your sister?" Santana glanced at the blonde, thinking back to their earlier conversation.

"Anytime my mom would bring us to Central Park." Brittany nodded and smiled at the small ducks that were now surrounding their feet. "We always had so much fun. She would've loved you."

Santana tossed her last slice of bread on the grass before looking back to Brittany. "How can you be so sure?"

Brittany smiled and gave a small shrug. "I just know."

Santana laughed at that.

"Come by later." Brittany stated, watching Santana's face intently.

"Are you sure?" Santana chuckled and tossed the empty bag away. "You're going to start getting sick of me if we keep spending so much time together." She teased.

"Impossible." Brittany winked, before her tone turned serious. "But I do want to do something for you. The amount of stress and responsibility that you've been put under lately isn't fair." She frowned. "You need to take some time for yourself and relax before you burn yourself out."

The corner of Santana's mouth tugged upwards as she dusted the discarded crumbs off of her black pencil skirt. "I guess I can. I'm meeting with a contractor to check out the building to make sure we're clear to start getting everything moved in, but that should be over by 6ish?"

"Then I'll see you at six?" Brittany grinned while pulling Santana off the bench with her.

"It's a date."


	15. Chapter 15

"Where are we going?" Santana grinned as Brittany led her through the crowded streets of the city.

After parting ways with Brittany at the park, Santana had decided on visiting Rachel once more, who was still in critical condition, then calling the police station to ask about seeing Quinn, only to be denied again. Afterwards, she headed back to the apartment to sort through some paperwork and find her blonde best friend a lawyer, before attempting to relax herself by taking an unexpected three hour nap. She woke up and lounged around, watching a few episodes of reality tv, before getting ready for her date with Brittany.

Brittany rolled her eyes at the question Santana had been asking for the past fifteen minutes, and glanced down with a small smile. "Santana for the last time, I'm not going to tell you or it would ruin the surprise." She sighed.

"Britt, c'mon." Santana whined. "I'm dying here."

"I think you'll be ok." Brittany chuckled and squeezed the Latina's hand gently. "We're almost there anyways."

"Why don't you go ahead and tell me where _there_ is to save us some time?" Santana tried again.

Brittany groaned and sent the brunette a warning look. "Santana Marie Lopez, if you ask me that question one more time I will take you home and we won't even go on our date."

"I wouldn't mind having a night in with you." Santana shrugged while leaning more into the blonde's side. "I love our cuddle and make out sessions." She smiled cheekily.

"Too bad, because if I take you home it means no cuddles or sweet lady kisses." Brittany stated seriously.

"W-what?" Santana's eyes widened. "Are you serious Britt?"

Brittany raised a brow and nodded. "Dead serious."

"Britttttt, you can't take away my kisses. That's cruel." Santana jutted out her bottom lip into a pout.

"I absolutely will if you don't stop being so impatient." Brittany smirked. "I swear you're like an antsy little kid."

"Not impatient, just curious." Santana corrected.

"Well you no longer have to be curious, because we're here." The blonde smiled broadly as Santana gazed upwards.

"Pinkberry?" She asked with her brow raised in amusement. "What is it with you and ice cream?"

"Not ice cream, frozen yogurt." Brittany playfully corrected. "C'mon, you said you haven't had frozen yogurt since you were a kid. I'm here to bring back all these great memories."

"Whatever you say Britt." Santana chuckled and followed the blonde into the brightly lit shop.

They headed over towards the machines and Brittany grabbed two cups of the largest size they had, before handing one to Santana. "You gotta fill it to the top." The blonde informed her with a bright smile, before pulling down one of the handles, a swirly chocolate substance filling the cup a few seconds later.

"What do you recommend?" Santana questioned as her eyes scanned over the variety of flavors. "You know, since it's been so long..."

"Hmmm..." Brittany hummed while tapping her chin thoughtfully. "You said you like cheesecake, right?" Santana nodded. "Then I would say get the New York Style Cheescake and mix it with strawberry."

"You can do that?" Santana asked curiously.

"Yep. I mix flavors all the time." Brittany winked before walking over to the opposite side of flavors and waving Santana over. "Let me see your cup." She stated, holding out her empty hand.

Santana handed her the container and took Brittany's full one, while the blonde filled hers up with white then pink yogurt, all the way to the top.

"Here you go, San." Brittany said happily while handing Santana her cup back. "Now for the toppings."

After spending five minutes of piling up the sweetest toppings at the topping section near the register, they had their cups weighed and Brittany handed the woman a $10.

"Ready?" Brittany asked after she had paid.

Santana raised a brow and glanced towards the booths and tables. "We're not eating here?"

"Of course not." Brittany shook her head as if it was obvious. "What kind of lame date do you think this is?" She asked, looking slightly offended.

Santana flushed. "I just thought..."

"I'm totally kidding Santana." Brittany laughed and slid her free hand into the Latina's. "But I have somewhere else to take you, so eat the yogurt on the way." She winked while leading them out of the building. "Don't ask where, because I'm not gonna tell you." She added when Santana opened her mouth.

"Fine." The Latina grumbled.

Fifteen minutes later, Brittany led Santana into a large building sitting on the corner of Main Street. She waved at the doorman and pulled her over towards the elevators, waiting patiently for the doors to open.

"Britt..."

"Hmm?"

"Why are we here?" Santana frowned while looking around the lobby. Instead of responding verbally, the blonde leaned down to press her lips against tan skin before pulling her inside of the empty elevator. The ride up was quiet, besides the annoying elevator music, and Santana's eyes stayed on the floor numbers as they rode to the very top floor.

"Close your eyes." Brittany whispered while resting her hands on Santana's waist.

"Ok." Santana nodded and fluttered her eyes close, as Brittany guided her out of the spacious elevator. She lost her footing as they walked onto what felt like concrete, but two strong arms quickly held her up.

"I got you. Relax." Brittany said softly when she felt how tense the Latina was.

"Sorry." Santana sighed and forced herself to relax under Brittany's touch.

They walked a few more steps until Brittany stopped and rested her chin on Santana's shoulder. "Open your eyes, baby."

Santana bit her bottom lip and melted herself into Brittany's embrace, before slowly opening her eyes and gasping at the sight in front of her. "Britt..."

They were on the roof of the building, which was completely empty and had a large blanket set up in the middle with a small picnic basket and candles surrounding the area. There was a path of rose petals from their feet to the end of the blanket, a mixture between red and white. And since the sun was setting, they had an amazing view of the sky and the New York City skyline up close. Nothing could compare in Santana's opinion.

"Do you like it?" Brittany asked hesitantly.

"Brittany," Santana shook her head and turned around in the blonde's arms to look into worried blue eyes. "I love it."

"Really?" Brittany smiled, relief washing over her features.

Santana quickly nodded and pressed her lips into the blonde's, sighing with content when Brittany immediately responded.

When air became a necessity, they broke the kiss and attempted to catch their breaths as Santana smoothed out the blonde's slightly messy hair, which was mostly her fault considering her fingers were tangled in it a few seconds ago.

Brittany placed one last soft peck on the Latina's full lips, before smiling down at her. "Shall we?" She asked in what sounded like a British accent, while taking Santana's hand in her own.

Santana chuckled and nodded, allowing Brittany to lead her over to the blanket laying on the ground. Brittany sat down first and spread her legs into a V shape, patting the space in between them for Santana. She quickly obliged and kicked off her heels, before sitting in the small space and leaning back onto the blonde's chest.

Brittany leaned over towards the side and pulled a bottle of wine and two glasses out of the picnic basket, pouring an equal amount in both glasses before handing one to Santana.

"Mhmmm, this is so good." Santana sighed while taking another sip.

"It is." Brittany agreed and shakily took a sip of her own wine.

Santana turned sideways in the blonde's arms and looked up at her curiously. "Why do you look so nervous?" She asked with an amused smile while setting her glass down beside the blonde's.

"Because I am," Brittany ran her free hand through her loose blonde waves. "I have something important to ask you."

"Ok?" Santana raised a brow, waiting for her to continue.

Brittany chewed on her bottom lip as she inhaled deeply through her nose. "Santana Lopez, will you be my girlfriend?" She asked, her blue eyes sparkling bright as she waited for the Latina's response.

It wasn't until Brittany's face dropped slightly and she started mumbling something about how this was a bad idea, that Santana realized she hadn't answered the question.

"Yes." The word tumbled from her lips so effortlessly, that she couldn't help but smile in triumph when the blonde abruptly stopped her antics and stared at the Latina with widened eyes.

"What?"

"Brittany, I would love to be your girlfriend." Santana grinned.

"Seriously?" Brittany stared at the woman as the corner of her mouth began to tug upwards.

Santana let out a small chuckle and nodded. "I wouldn't say no even if I wanted to, especially after you went through all this trouble."

"It wasn't any trouble." Brittany shook her head and tightened her arms around Santana's small frame. "I have a friend who works here, they owed me a favor." She shrugged.

"Still, it's incredibly thoughtful Britt." Santana rested her head back on the blonde's shoulder. "You can't deny that."

"Ok." Brittany laughed and nuzzled her nose into Santana's hair. "I feel kind of stupid for being so nervous now."

"You're not stupid." Santana said quickly with a frown. "Hell, I would've been a nervous wreck. I mean, I was planning on asking you soon anyways."

"Really?"

"Yep, for our next date I was going to ask you." Santana smiled. "But you beat me to it."

"Sorry I ruined your plans." Brittany smirked while rubbing Santana's sides.

Santana turned her head upwards and met the blonde's shining blue eyes. "I wouldn't have had it any other way." She winked, before connecting their lips in a long and sensual kiss.

...

Brittany walked into the police station, giving a small wave to her colleagues, before immediately making her way to Will's office. He had called her in that morning and said he needed to speak with her, which in the blonde's opinion was never a good thing.

So she had rushed to get ready and kissed Santana's forehead softly before telling her what was going on, and letting her know she could just stay there until she got back. Santana had opted to go with her, hoping to get a chance to speak with Quinn. That was almost thirty minutes ago.

Brittany didn't even bother knocking and instead pushed the office's door open, gazing down at a somewhat startled Will Schuester. "What's going on?" She demanded with a deep frown. "Did you find more evidence?"

Will shuffled through a few papers, before tossing a few crumpled ones in the small trash can that was placed next to his desk. "Pierce, you're off the case." He stated, not bothering to look up from the stack of paperwork.

"Excuse me?" Brittany snapped. "I've gotten us over half of the information you've been using to track down this murderer, and you're trying to throw me off?"

Will glanced up at the fuming blonde and sighed. "You're too personally involved. I know I told you to get close to Ms. Lopez, but I have a feeling this is more than just business." He shook his head. "I can't have you on this case anymore. It could make this investigation look sketchy on our part, and that's the last thing we need right now."

"This is bullshit." Brittany spat and slammed her hands down on top of the desk, causing a few papers to fall. "You can't do this to me, this is the biggest case we've had all year."

"You're _done_." Will repeated, firmer this time. "I will have your badge taken away if you're involved in any way with this case from now on, and yes I can do that so do not test me." He added.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?" Brittany raised her voice and narrowed her eyes at the curly haired man.

Will went through a smaller stack of papers, before seeming to find what he was looking for and handed it to the blonde. "You can figure out who's been robbing the fish market up the street." He suggested.

"Is this a joke?" Brittany growled and threw the file back. "No one cares about fucking stolen fish when there's a murderer roaming the streets."

"Pierce, do you want a job or not? Because you're walking on thin ice here." Will shook his head. "I'm trying to help you out here, but if you don't want to accept my help then you can leave." He motioned towards the door.

Brittany bit her tongue, knowing how bad her temper could get if she was pissed off enough. She took a deep breath and rubbed circular motions on her temples, before opening her mouth to speak. "Fine, I'll take the stolen fish case." She stated firmly, feeling somewhat proud of herself for not snapping again.

"That's what I like to hear." Will gave her a genuine smile and carefully handed the file back. "I'm sorry about this Pierce, but I have to protect the company."

"I understand." Brittany sighed and tucked the folder under her arm. "I guess I'll head down to my office to look this over."

"Have a good day, Pierce." Will called after her, before the door of his office was shut and the blonde was out of sight.

...

Santana made her way down the narrow hallway Mercedes had directed her to, nervously chewing on her bottom lip as she got closer towards her destination. She rounded the corner and saw Puck standing outside the door, just like Mercedes had told her she would, and offered him a small smile.

"How are you doing today Lopez?" He asked while leaning against the door frame.

"I'm ok." Santana shrugged, her eyes never leaving the large oak wood door.

Puck nodded and glanced down at the door. "I guess you're ready to go in, huh?" He looked at her knowingly.

"More than ready." Santana chuckled while running her free hand through her hair. "I feel like it's been forever since I've seen her."

Puck gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know what you mean." He scratched the back of his neck and moved to the side. "Go ahead Lopez, just yell if you need anything. I'll be right here."

"Thanks Puck." Santana smiled and took a deep breath, before slowly pushing open the door, momentarily losing her breath at the sight of the blonde.

"Quinn." Santana's eyes watered as she threw her arms around her best friend's neck. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too babe." Quinn sighed. "How's everything been going?"

"I feel like I should be asking you that." Santana gave the blonde a watery smile and took a seat in the chair next to her.

Quinn shrugged and forced herself to return the smile. "It could be worse."

"Could it?" Santana frowned. "What the hell has been going on?"

"Questioning mostly. Schuester went at it for almost four hours yesterday, before Puckerman took over." The blonde informed her. "I don't think I've been that big of a help though, I don't know enough information to help them find the guy."

"Q, I'm sure you've been a huge help." Santana said softly while resting her hand on top of the blonde's. "Have you been sleeping?"

"What do you think?" Quinn rolled her eyes. "I mean of course they offer me a place to sleep, which isn't that bad, but would you be able to sleep when you're in a situation like this?" She shook her head. "At least you get to go home."

"You think this is easy for me?" Santana asked with a frown. "I mean really Quinn, do you think this is easy on me?" She let out an angry laugh. "My nightmares are back. I only get a decent amount of sleep when I'm with Brittany, because being in her arms makes me feel safe. My fucking abuela is dying and requesting to see me, but I don't know if I could handle seeing her again and still not having her accept me. That would fuck me up even worse than I am now."

"What?" Quinn's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry, Santana. You know I would go with you if I could..."

"I know." Santana gave her a small nod and stared down at the floor.

"How bad are your nightmares?" Quinn asked in a softer tone.

"It doesn't matter." Santana snapped. "Because I'm just doing fucking great and you're the only one who's having any problems."

"San..."

Santana waved it off and leaned back in her chair. "Don't worry about it Quinn. I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"I'm _fine_." Santana repeated in a sharper tone.

"Ok." Quinn sighed, deciding not to press the subject. "But I do think there's something you need to know." She stated, her eyes softening.

Santana frowned. "What is it?"

"Santana..." Quinn gave the Latina a weary look and sighed deeply. "Brittany's been using you."

"What?" Santana furrowed her brows and let out a dry chuckle. "No she hasn't."

"Santana..."

"Quinn."

Quinn sighed and glanced around the empty room. "I heard her talking about it with that Schuester guy." She stated, her eyes meeting Santana's dark ones.

"You probably misunderstood." Santana shrugged.

"Dammit Santana, why are you so stubborn?" Quinn snapped. "He clearly said '_I know_ _I told you to get close to Ms. Lopez,'_ and Brittany never denied it."

"That doesn't mean anything." Santana countered.

Quinn raised a brow. "It doesn't mean anything? Really? Because it sounds like she's been using you to get a lead on this case to me."

"Shut the hell up, Quinn." Santana snapped angrily. "You don't know shit. Brittany would never screw me over like that."

"Seriously Santana? _I_ don't know shit?" Quinn stared at the Latina with disbelief.

"Did I stutter? I'm pretty sure that's what I just said." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Are you really saying this to the person who's been there for you since we were _ten_ years old?" Quinn shook her head and let out a strangled laugh. "What the hell has Brittany been putting in you head?"

"I'm not talking about this anymore." Santana abruptly pushed her chair back and stood up. "Whenever you decide to stop being a bitch, let me know." She snapped, before opening the door and storming out.

"Whoa, are you alright?" Puck asked, who had been standing beside the door by Will's orders.

Santana just shook her head and pushed past the man, heading straight for Brittany's office. She forcefully pushed open to door, feeling somewhat guilty when it hit the wall loudly and startled Brittany.

"Are you ok?" Brittany frowned, her eyes scanning over the Latina's face.

Santana sighed. "No, not really." She shook her head and walked closer towards the blonde's desk.

"I'm guessing it didn't go well with Quinn?" Brittany asked knowingly.

Santana just shrugged but didn't say anything, confirming the blonde's assumption. "I guess we're both just having a shit day." Brittany stated with a small sigh.

Santana nodded and stared down at the heap of messy blonde hair, before reaching her hand out to smooth it down. "Why don't we head back to my apartment and cuddle?" She suggested while combing her finger's through Brittany's hair, knowing it relaxed the blonde. "Being in your arms right now sounds pretty good."

"We can do that." Brittany nodded. "Tina's still out of town with Mike, so she can't get mad at me for spending so much time with you and not her." She grinned while gazing up at the Latina. "Having you in my arms sounds pretty good also." She added with a faint smile.

"Brittany, can I ask you something?" Santana asked, remembering her and Quinn's earlier conversation.

"Always."

Santana sighed and looked down into clear blue eyes that were staring back at her with such adoration, that made all of those doubts and fears completely disappear. "Nevermind." She offered the blonde a smile.

"Are you sure?" Brittany frowned and brought her hand up to stroke Santana's cheek. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I'm sure." Santana leaned into Brittany's touch and softly kissed her palm. "Let's go home."

...

**3pm**

"Santana."

Santana grunted in response and burrowed herself deeper into the sheets.

"Santana." The voice was louder this time and gently shook the brunette until she forced her eyes open.

"What?" Santana groaned while blinking slowly until the blurriness of her vision went away. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but after the emotionally draining morning both her and Brittany had, she wasn't surprised that they did.

"Your phone's been ringing for the past five minutes." Brittany informed her while nodding her head towards the nightstand.

"Oh." Santana frowned and reached for the small device, unlocking it and bringing it up to her ear. "Hello?"

Brittany watched Santana's face intently as she continued talking to whoever was on the opposite end of the line.

"San? What's wrong?" Brittany asked as she watched the Latina shuffle through the room, attempting to throw on a decent outfit.

"Santana, baby, what's wrong?" Brittany repeated while wrapping her arms around the smaller woman from behind, stilling her movements.

"We need to get to the hospital." Santana sniffled and attempted to remove herself from the blonde's embrace.

Brittany tightened her hold and gently kissed the back of Santana's neck, a small smile appearing on her face when she felt the woman relax. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Santana shook her head. "All the man told me was that we needed to get there as soon as possible."

"Ok, calm down." Brittany ordered gently while placing her hand over the Latina's heart. "I can feel your heart San, calm down baby."

Santana took a deep breath in attempt to slow her breathing. "I'm trying."

"I know." Brittany nodded and placed a soft kiss on the smaller woman's lips. She let out a small sigh of relief when she felt Santana's heart rate beginning to slow down.

"We need to go." Santana said softly, gazing up into Brittany's equally worried eyes. "Walking to the hospital will take too long, we can just take my car. I rarely use it so I'm not really sure why I have it to be honest..." She shrugged. "It comes in handy sometimes."

"Ok." Brittany smiled. "Where are the keys?"

Santana pointed to her dresser. "Second drawer." She informed Brittany, who was searching on the top.

Brittany grabbed the car keys and raised a brow at the logo. "You have a Mercedes and you never drive it?" She asked with slight disbelief.

"I don't really have a reason to." Santana admitted while following Brittany out of her bedroom and down the hallway. Brittany nodded and opened the apartment's door, allowing Santana to walk out first before following. They headed down the elevator and outside to the parking deck, where a few other cars were located.

Brittany hit the unlock button and smiled when the shiny black Mercedes in the corner flashed and made the clicking noise. "Do you want to drive, or do you want me to?" She questioned while stopping in front of the car.

"You can." Santana shrugged while hopping in the passenger seat.

The drive to the hospital took way longer than it should've, mainly because traffic was awful since there was a car accident blocking the road they were taking. When they finally arrived, Santana slid her hand into Brittany's and pulled her past the nurse's station and headed straight for the elevators.

She was antsy the entire way up, which Brittany was assuming were the nerves, and darted out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, dragging the blonde down the hallway until they reached Rachel's room. Santana reached for the door handle but quickly stopped, the fears and worries she had been feeling before coming back full force.

Brittany took notice and lightly squeezed the Latina's hand. "I'm here for you no matter what happens, ok?"

Santana bit her lip and nodded, her eyes darting back to the door as she hesitantly pushed it open.

Rachel was sitting up slightly in the hospital bed, attempting to eat the small bowl of jello that was resting on her lap with her right hand. She noticed her two visitors standing in the doorway and frowned, glancing at the nurse who was standing at her bedside.

"Can I help you?" She mumbled out, the injuries on her face making it hard for her to speak clearly.

"How are you feeling Rachel?" Brittany asked, since Santana wasn't making any sound, and instead staring at the woman with wide eyes.

"I'm ok but," Rachel frowned and glanced between both women. "Who are you?"


	16. Chapter 16

"Santana." Brittany breathed out, her voice full of relief when she found the Latina sitting against the wall next to the vending machines. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"I'm sorry." Santana said softly, looking up at the blonde with conflicted dark eyes. "I didn't mean to worry you."

Brittany just waved it off and squeezed in the small space next to her girlfriend, choosing to stay silent instead of pushing her to talk. She's spent enough time with Santana to know it's a good idea not to pressure her into doing anything she wasn't completely comfortable doing.

"So, what else did the doctor say?" Santana asked after several moments, tilting her head to the side to look at the blonde.

After the shock of Rachel's three words had finally subsided, one of the nurses began to explain the situation of the memory loss; permanent or temporary, there was no way of knowing, when Santana abruptly ran out of the hospital room, the weight of everything becoming too overwhelming for her. Brittany had politely excused herself before chasing after the Latina, searching every inch of the hospital's third floor, then taking a small break to grab a bottle of water, where Santana just so happened to be.

"That the main cause of the memory loss was from the impact of the explosion. Apparently Rachel hit her head and got a mild concussion, but the amount of smoke that got in her lungs shut down her respiratory system momentarily, which can be life threatening, and knocked her out, which had her in the coma for those few days." Brittany explained carefully, while watching Santana's face. "There's always the chance of her memory coming back, but there's no way to know for sure."

"You don't seem as bummed out as you should be." Santana mumbled. "She could've been a huge help for your case. Especially since Quinn isn't talking."

"I'm not on the case anymore." Brittany admitted softly. "Schuester kicked me off."

"What the fuck?" Santana snapped angrily. "Why the fuck would he do that?"

When Brittany didn't answer, realization washed over the Latina's features and she furrowed her brows in thought. "Is it my fault?" She asked quietly, her eyes averted to the floor.

"No honey, of course not." Brittany shook her head and placed a soft kiss on Santana's forehead. "Don't blame yourself. Maybe it was for the best anyways."

"Brittany... you can't downplay this." Santana sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "You were working so hard on this case, if anyone could find out who was behind this it would be you." She unconsciously wrung her wrists, a nervous tick she hadn't had in awhile. "Maybe it'd best if we just..."

"No, Santana. You're more important to me than this case." Brittany said firmly, her eyes never leaving Santana's. "I'm not losing you to this. You're the best thing that's happened to me in awhile."

Santana still looked doubtful. "But-"

"Santana, I promise that it's ok. Don't overthink this, ok?" Brittany rested her forehead against the Latina's. "Please don't. I don't need anything else stressing you out right now."

"Ok." Santana whispered, allowing herself to relax.

Brittany let her forehead linger for a few more moments, before finally pulling away and getting off of the floor, pulling Santana with her. She wrapped her arm around the brunette and held her close as they silently headed towards the elevators, making their way towards the main floor of the car park.

Knowingly, Brittany climbed in the driver's seat while Santana got in the passenger, leaning back against the leather interior while squeezing her eyes shut and letting out a long exhale.

"Where do you want to go?" Brittany asked after several moments, the car keys still resting in her hands. "We can go back to my place or yours, or if you want-"

"Can you just take me home?" It came out a lot harsher than Santana had meant for it to, and she instantly felt guilty when Brittany winced from her tone.

"Yeah, sure." Brittany nodded, ignoring the harshness of the question, and put the car into drive before pulling out of the hospital.

The drive to Santana's apartment was tense and quiet, too quiet, so when they finally pulled into the parking garage both women were relieved.

Santana opened the passenger side door and climbed out, Brittany following a few seconds later.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Brittany asked once they reached the back entrance to the building.

"Uh-umm, no. I think I'm just going to take a nap." Santana said quietly while toying with the hem of her top. "You can just go home, and um- you can use my car to take you if you want. I'll call you later, ok?"

"Santana..."

"What?" Santana frowned at the blonde's tone and took a step back when Brittany took a step forward.

Brittany sighed. "Are you sure you'll be ok?" She asked, knowing she wouldn't.

"I'll be fine." She answered shortly. "Seriously Brittany, don't worry about me."

"It's kind of hard not to." Brittany mumbled while staring down at her feet.

"Just, trust me ok? I wouldn't lie to you..." Santana scratched the tip of her nose and shifted on her feet. "I think need some time alone, to get my thoughts together and stuff."

Brittany nodded. "Call me later?"

"You know I will."

...

"Well hello stranger." Tina called from the kitchen when she heard Brittany walk in the front door.

"I know, I know." Brittany sighed while tossing her keys on the table before rounding the corner to the kitchen. "I'm sorry I've been so MIA lately."

"No, I'm glad you have somewhat of a social life now. You were such a bore before." Tina teased. "It only took you like 8 years, but you're finally taking advantage of living in New York City."

Brittany rolled her eyes and took a seat at the small table placed in the middle. "Ha ha. How funny." She replied sarcastically.

"But seriously, how are things going with Santana?" Tina asked while glancing over her shoulder at the blonde. "You always seem happier after you get back from her place, so I'm guessing good." She added.

"I think we're doing pretty good." Brittany nodded. "She's dealing with a lot right now, so I'm just trying to be _there_ for her."

"And I'm sure you're doing an amazing job." Tina said while grabbing a stick of butter from the refrigerator. "She's lucky to have you."

Brittany sighed. "I think we'll be ok."

"You _think_? What's that supposed to mean?" Tina raised a brow and momentarily stopped her ministrations. "I thought you said you were doing good?"

"It means you think things over way too hard." Brittany chuckled while handing her friend the vegetable oil she was reaching for.

Tina shook her head, continuing to focus on what she was making. "I'm just being a good best friend here, and I will happily kick Santana's ass if she's not being good to you." She stated and shot the blonde a pointed look.

"I'm sure you will, but that's not needed." Brittany rearranged the salt and pepper shakers to occupy herself. "By the way, have you seen Lord Tubbington?"

"I see you're trying to change the subject. But yeah, I had Finn come over and feed him while I was gone since I knew you'd be distracted by a certain brunette." Tina smirked.

"He's probably mad at me." The blonde mumbled sadly. "I haven't been spending much time with him. I don't think we've had a _Friends_ marathon together in a few weeks."

"Wow, that's cold Britt." Tina waved her finger at her best friend. "Though I do love how you're more concerned with your relationship regarding your cat, than your human friend."

Brittany rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "You know I love you Tina."

"You're not doing a very good job of showing it." Tina replied while pulling her hair into a messy bun. "What happened to our Friends marathons and cheap Chinese food nights?"

"I've been busy." Brittany defended.

"With what exactly? Because Mercedes told me about Schuester kicking you off the case." Tina said as she placed a pan in the oven.

"Since when are you and Mercedes friends?" Brittany frowned.

Tina scoffed while taking the seat across from Brittany's. "Please, we go _way_ back. But that's not the point."

"What _is_ the point exactly?"

"That I miss my best friend and I'd like to spend some time with you." Tina stated simply.

Brittany slid the shakers back to the middle and glanced up at the woman. "I understand what you're saying." She tapped her fingers against the smooth surface of the table. "How about next weekend, you and I binge on an entire season of _Friends_ and eat an unhealthy amount of affordable Chinese food?"

Tina tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... it sounds like a good deal, but I'm sure there's a catch."

"Nope, no catch." Brittany shook her head. "Just that you'll give me some time to get my shit together, and promise not to be mad if I happen to miss something."

Tina squinted her eyes at the blonde as a small realization dawned on her. "You're still coming to Mike's dance showcase right?"

"I'll try." Brittany told her honestly, not missing the disappointment that flashed across her friend's face.

"Ok." Tina sighed, before checking the timer on her phone. "You know he'll be really upset if you're a no-show Britt."

"I know, Tina. I'll try my best to be there." Brittany repeated. "There's a lot going on right now."

Tina nodded instead of responding verbally. "Well I'm about to head over to Mike's, go spend some time with your girl." She smiled. "You mentioned that she was having a hard time right now, take her some cheesy chick flick movies and junk food you guys can pig out on."

"You're awesome, you know that?" Brittany laughed while wrapping her arms around Tina's shoulders.

"I do, but thank you for recognizing it." Tina shrugged and nodded her head towards the door. "Now hurry up and head over to your girlfriend's apartment, I'm sure she doesn't want to be kept waiting."

"Can you-"

Tina held up her hand, quickly cutting the blonde off. "Yes I'll feed Lord Tubbs for you and inform him that you have to take care of your girlfriend right now, but plan on spending time with him soon."

Brittany smiled appreciatively. "I told you that you're awesome right?" She asked while throwing her sweater back on.

"You've mentioned it once or twice." Tina smirked. "And make sure Santana knows that you're busy next weekend!" She called after her.

"I will, don't worry!" Brittany yelled back, before shutting the door behind her.

...

**10pm**

"San, baby?" Santana knew who it was before she took the chance to look up from the dark space where she had buried her head in her arms a good two hours ago; a voice she could recognize in her sleep.

The second time Brittany called her name, she was closer, halfway through the door with her head poked in. Her blue eyes were soft and tender, it made Santana's heart ache with guilt.

Guilt because Brittany didn't deserve to be ignored or pushed away, even though it feels like everything else in her life is falling apart, at least she still has Brittany.

Guilt because instead of calling Brittany and admitting she didn't want to be alone, she drank away her problems to a point where she's too drunk to have a proper conversation with her girlfriend.

"Are you ok?" Brittany asked hesitantly, bringing Santana out of the storm going on in her head and back to reality.

She tightened her arms around herself and slowly nodded, not trusting her own words. She offered the blonde a short, forced smile, hoping it looked believable enough to make her leave her to sulk in her pain and guilt alone.

Without saying anything else, Brittany shut the bedroom's door and took a seat next to the distraught Latina, leaving a respectable amount of space between the two of them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The blonde asked a few moments later, feeling uneasy from the tense silence that overtook them.

"No." Santana shook her head, then winced from the motion, her voice raspy from being silent for so long. "I don't."

"Ok."

Another silence fell over the two, Santana's chin resting on her knees while Brittany leaned back against the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Brittany?" Santana's broken voice caused Brittany to tilt her head to the side, where she's looking down at the Latina and hums.

"Yeah?"

Santana furrowed her brows and chewed on her bottom lip, attempting to put her words together and get out what she's been trying to say.

Brittany opened her mouth to tell her not to worry about it, to tell her that she can tell her anything, but Santana beat her to it.

"Will you hold me?"

Her voice was so fragile that a small piece of Brittany's heart broke, and she could do nothing but nod and wrap the smaller woman in her strong arms, pulling her close.

Santana rested her cheek over the blonde's heart, the steady heart beat soothing her. She snuggled further into Brittany's warmth and sighed in content when she felt the blonde begin to comb her fingers through her dark hair. Every so often, Brittany would place a soft, reassuring kiss on Santana's temple that the Latina was grateful for.

Brittany had no idea how long they had been sitting there, but it must've been awhile because once she felt Santana's breathing even out, she knew she was asleep. She carefully readjusted the brunette, so that she was now straddling her, and reached behind her to grab one of the blankets off of the bed, throwing it over the two of them.

"Goodnight, San." Brittany whispered while nuzzling her nose into vanilla-scented hair and tightening her hold around the smaller body in her arms.

...

"Britt-Britt."

Brittany groaned and tilted her head to the side, snuggling further back into Santana's bed.

"Brittany." Santana chuckled while tracing her finger over the blonde's facial features, pausing at her lips. She ran her thumb over the soft rosy flesh, before leaning down to press her own lips to Brittany's, smirking when the blonde moaned softly at the feeling of her tongue snaking through the small opening of her mouth.

"That was one hell of a good morning kiss." Brittany laughed while kissing the tip of the Latina's nose. "Good morning."

"Good morning baby." Santana smiled, before resting her head in it's previous spot on the blonde's shoulder.

"You seem to be in a better mood." Brittany said softly while running her hands up and down the Latina's sides.

"I am. Well besides the raging headache I have right now." Santana admitted with an eye roll. "Being in your arms all night made me realize that I haven't completely lost everything, and I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you yesterday."

"You weren't, but it's understandable." Brittany gently nudged her nose against Santana's. "With Rachel, Quinn, and your bakery, you're under a lot of stress."

"A lot is an understatement." Santana grumbled, and the blonde chuckled in response.

"I know. Which is exactly why I plan on helping you get some stuff done for Pezberry's today. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it for you."

"How are you so amazing?" Santana smiled while playing with a loose strand of blonde hair.

"I'm not, just trying to be a good girlfriend." Brittany shrugged, then nuzzled her nose into the crook of Santana's neck. "You smell good." She mumbled.

Santana snorted. "Do I? Because I didn't shower last night and I consumed an insane amount of alcohol, so I feel pretty gross."

Brittany hummed in response while continuing to drag her fingers across Santana's smooth skin. "Well I didn't shower either. Maybe we should take care of that together?" She said suggestively with a sly grin.

"I don't think so," Santana smirked while wrapping her arms around the blonde's neck. "I don't think I'd be able to resist certain _temptations_."

"Who said anything about temptations?" Brittany raised a brow and looked up at the brunette. "I can control myself, but can you?"

"Probably not." Santana admitted honestly.

"I know." Brittany chuckled. "I'm just teasing though. The showering together part, not the showering." She added. "I feel gross also, so showering is probably a good idea."

"You can use Quinn or Rachel's bathroom, or the guest bathroom. I'll find you a pair of sweats to wear." Santana told her while getting off of her lap and walking towards her closet.

"Ok." Brittany nodded and pulled herself off of Santana's fluffy rug.

"These should fit you since they're too big on me." Santana said as she walked out of her closet with a bright red pair of sweatpants. "They're my old Cheerios sweats."

"Cheerios?" Brittany furrowed her brows. "Like the cereal?"

"Umm, kinda. But not really." Santana shrugged. "I'm gonna go grab a bottle of Tylenol from the kitchen and get you a towel, you can go ahead and get yourself situated in one of the bathrooms."

"I'll just use the guest one." Brittany told her. "It's the one by the hall closet right?"

"Right." Santana nodded, before leaving the room.

Brittany grabbed the sweatpants and tank top off of the Latina's bed and left the room, headed towards the guest bathroom down the hall. Like the rest of the apartment, it was nice and spacious with a stand-in marble shower with silver trimmings.

Brittany had one foot through the shower door when her phone began vibrating against the counter top, almost throwing her off balance. Having a good idea of who it was, she made sure the shower was cut all the way up, to muffle the noise of the conversation, before answering.

_Hello?_

_**Britt,**_ Mercedes' voice came from the other end, _**I found the information on your guy.**_

_Thank you so much Cedes, you have no idea how helpful this is_. Brittany sighed while pushing some of her hair back.

_**No, but I do know that I could get fired if Schuester found out about this.**_

_He won't_. Brittany reassured her. _I promise he won't._

_**He better not. I need-**_

"Hey Britt?" Santana called from the opposite side of the door.

"Shit." Brittany mumbled before bringing the phone back to her ear. "Thanks Cedes, but I gotta go." She whispered, before hanging up and tossing the phone on the marble counter.

"Yeah?" The blonde smiled while cracking the door open.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to hit up Breadstix before going to the bakery?" Santana asked while leaning against the doorframe. "I figured we could use a decent amount of food before putting in the hard labor of getting everything set up."

"Yeah, that sounds fine." Brittany nodded and went to close the door, but Santana's hand stopped her.

"Hey are you ok?" Santana frowned, her eyes scanning over the blonde's face. "You look a little flustered."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired still, but this shower should wake me up." Brittany motioned towards the steaming shower in the back.

"Oh, ok." Santana nodded and handed the blonde a towel. "Just come in the kitchen when you're finished, I'm making coffee. You like it with two sugars and the vanilla cream I have, right?"

"Yep, thanks San. I'll be quick." Brittany placed a chaste kiss on the Latina's lips before taking a step back and closing the door.

...

**What's Brittany up to...**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: finished this chapter at 4am so sorry for any mistakes.**

**...**

Four hours later, Brittany's leaning back against the glass wall of the new bakery while Santana's directing two huge guys around the large space, showing them what goes where.

"_Díos mio_, no, I said on the left. The _left_, that's right." Santana snapped and roughly rubbed her temples in frustration. "Take five, I need a break." She huffed, before stomping over towards Brittany.

"Honey, you need to calm down." Brittany said softly, patting the space on her lap for Santana to sit on.

The Latina reluctantly obliged, curling into Brittany's strong arms as she rolled her eyes. "They can't tell the fucking difference between right and left Britt. I'm on a tight schedule here, Mr. Jackson is wanting to get this place up and running by the end of next month."

"And we'll make it happen." Brittany gently cupped Santana's face in her hands and nudged her nose against the brunette's. "What have I told you? Don't stress yourself out over things that can easily be taken care of."

"You're right." Santana mumbled.

"I know." Brittany smiled triumphantly and kissed the top of her girlfriend's head. "By the way, Kurt called earlier and said he'd be back by tomorrow afternoon. He also wants you to know that he's sorry for not being here with you during all of this."

Santana just waved it off. "It's not his fault that his dad had a heart attack, and I have you so it's all good." She frowned. "Well not exactly all good, but I could be alone so there's _that_."

"I know you missed him, though." Brittany gave her a knowing look.

Santana shrugged. "Well yeah, he's one of my closest friends after Quinn and Rachel."

"Maybe we could do something when he gets back." Brittany suggested.

Santana raised a brow and looked at the blonde curiously. "Like what?"

"I don't know, go out?" Brittany shrugged while playing with a strand of Santana's hair. "We could go to a nice restaurant or something."

"Maybe."

"How much longer do you want to keep at this?" Brittany asked, motioning towards the little progress they've made on the bakery. "It's getting kind of late, and you mentioned that you wanted to visit Rachel tonight."

"I don't know, we're not getting anywhere right now." Santana glanced around the large space in disappointment. "Which sucks, because Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 obviously haven't learned their common directions yet."

"_Santana_." Brittany shook her head disapprovingly. "Don't call them idiots, they were probably just scared of you. You have to admit that you're pretty intimidating."

Santana rolled her eyes and scoffed. "They should just be happy that they haven't met Snixx yet."

"I'm sure they're grateful for that." Brittany mumbled, trailing her fingers up Santana's sides, "Why don't we go ahead and call it a day? That way you can go pay Rachel a visit at the hospital while I head down to the station to fill out some paperwork."

"I don't know..." Santana frowned and glanced around the space, "I really need to get this done..."

"We'll get it done," Brittany stated firmy, pressing her lips to Santana's temple. "I promise baby."

Santana smiled softly and leaned forward, leaning forward to gently press her lips to the blonde's. "Ok Britt." She agreed with a small nod.

"You sure?" Santana nodded, "Ok. Hey guys!" Brittany yelled and both men paused, looking in the blonde's direction. "We're finished for the day. Just set that box in the corner over there and you guys can head home."

"You sure Ms.? We're almost through movin' these, it'll only take us a second." The smaller one said, pointing to the small pile of boxes near the door.

Santana shook her head. "No that's ok, we need to head out soon anyways."

"Thanks though." Brittany added with a smile as she watched the men grumble and _ok_ before setting the box down and leaving.

Santana sighed tiredly and rested her head on Brittany's shoulder. "Can I come over to your place after I leave the hospital?" She asked, nuzzling her nose against Brittany's smooth skin.

Brittany placed a soft kiss to the Latina's hairline, before mumbling a soft but sweet, "Always."

...

"Rachel, hey." Santana smiled while taking the seat placed next to the hospital bed.

Rachel returned the smile. "Hello Santana, how are you?" She asked while twirling a loose strand of her wavy hair. Even though Rachel's memory still hasn't returned, the few visits Santana's been making to the hospital has been helping somewhat.

"I'm ok." Santana shrugged. "What about you, Berry? Any cute male nurses up in this joint?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and chuckled. "No, not quite. You mentioned I had some sort of fling with someone, so I didn't feel very comfortable with flirting with other guys." She shook her head. "It feels like cheating, even though I don't even know the name of this guy. Weird, huh?"

"Umm, yeah." Santana shook her head. "Finn has been wanting to visit, he's just being a pussy and refuses to actually go through with his _plan_."

Rachel grimaced at the word. "Please don't use such crude language." She scrunched her nose up in disgust.

"Sorry." Santana shrugged, "But anyways, if Jolly Green giant doesn't grow the balls to show up and visit you soon, then go ahead and get you some action girl." She winked, while Rachel just sighed.

"I can't wait to get out of here, the food is awful and this bed is extremely uncomfortable." Rachel complained while shifting on the hospital bed to get in a more comfortable position.

"I bet." The Latina agreed, "I'll tell you what, whenever they decide to release you from this hell hole I will personally make you my infamous double-decker chocolate brownies."

Rachel let out a hearty laugh and smiled. "Do I like those?"

Santana nodded. "You _love_ them." She adjusted herself in the uncomfortable hospital chair, before running her fingers through her hair. "I usually only make them on your birthday so you don't get sick of them, which I doubt you would anyways but it's what you _insisted_. Keeps the taste alive."

"That does sound like something I would do." The shorter woman agreed.

"It is, unfortunately." Santana teased, earning a light smack on her forearm.

Rachel glanced at the Latina with mock hurt and threw her hand over her chest dramatically. "Excuse me Santana, I don't appreciate the negativity. With everything I've heard from you and Brittany, I sound pretty damn awesome." She said proudly.

Santana's nose crinkled as she laughed loudly and shook her head. "You're too much."

"No, I'm just enough." Rachel winked, before resting her head back against the mountain of pillows she had requested days ago for her back. "Do you think my face will ever heal?" She asked in a quieter, more serious tone, indicating to the side of her face that was bandaged up.

"Yes." Santana stated confidently, "I'm sure it will. It might take some time, but you'll be fine. You're beautiful regardless." She shrugged.

"Santana Lopez, are you flirting with me?" Rachel gasped. "What would the neighbors think?"

"Shut up." Santana snorted while grabbing one of Rachel's pillows and gently smacking her thigh.

Rachel swatted the pillow away, but couldn't fight off the large grin that spread across her face. "As flattered as I am, I'm more on the heterosexual path of love." She apologized with a small pout, "Let's be honest though, if I were a lesbian you would be _way_ out of my league."

"Damn right."

"Well then." The brunette rolled her eyes before checking the clock hanging on the wall. "It's getting pretty late, you should probably head home."

"I am," Santana nodded, "If I'm not back tomorrow I'll be here the day after that, ok? And you better have some activity going on with your relationship status." She warned as she slipped on her black leather jacket.

"Yeah, yeah." Rachel waved her hand in the air, "We'll see."

"Have a good night Rachel, don't watch too much trashy reality tv tonight."

"You too Santana, and I'll try my best."

Santana paused at the door, letting her hand rest on the silver handle as she glanced back over her shoulder. "And Rachel?"

"Yeah?" Rachel raised a brow.

The Latina chewed on her bottom lip and focused her attention on her hand. "You know I love you, right?" She asked quietly.

"I do." Rachel gave her a soft smile. Even in the small period of time she's spent with the Latina, she knew how difficult it was for her to talk about her _feelings_. "And I love you too."

Santana chuckled lightly and opened the door, gently scratching the tip of her nose in the process. "Good to know." She fully stepped out of the room, before peeping her head in a few seconds later. "And I was completley, one hundred percent serious about you getting some hot male ass. Although sex in a hospital is pretty kinky, then again I'm not sure what you're into."

"Santana!"

...

**The next day- 3pm**

"Where is he?" Santana rolled her eyes in annoyance while looking around the crowded airport. Kurt's flight had arrived twenty-minutes ago, and they still haven't seen the sassy man.

"I'm not sure." Brittany mumbled from beside the brunette, gently scratching the tip of her nose. "He said he would be at the sixth gate."

"Fucking Porcelain." Santana grumbled while folding her arms across her chest. "I hate airports. Too many fucking people." She snapped and narrowed her eyes at the passing people.

Brittany sighed, because she knew the Latina would only get more antsy and grumpy the longer it took to find Kurt. "San, I'm sure we'll find-"

"There he is!" Santana scowled and quickly approached her best friend, then stopping in her tracks when she noticed he wasn't alone. "_Blaine_? What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded, her frown deepening.

Blaine shifted uncomfortably under Santana's harsh glare. "Kurt asked me to come back with him and I couldn't refuse. I had always planned on coming back to New York anyways, it just so happened to be now." He explained while glancing at Kurt, who nodded.

"I figured we should be surrounding ourselves with our friends right now." Kurt stated gently. "I can't even begin to imagine what you've been going through, San."

"Well it wasn't rainbows and sunshine, _that's_ for fucking sure." Santana snapped. "I haven't talked to Blaine in years, why the fuck would I want to spend time with him now?" She was fuming and Brittany wasn't sure why, but she knew that she needed to calm her down before she got too worked up.

"Santana, baby." Brittany's voice was soft and gentle as she carefully wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist. "San, look at me." Santana reluctantly tore her gaze away from Kurt and Blaine, who looked somewhat terrified, and looked into Brittany's tender ocean blue eyes. It was calming.

Brittany brought her hand up to her girlfriend's face and gently stroked her cheek. "Everything's ok." She whispered, before pressing her lips into dark hair.

No, everything was definitely _not_ ok, but Brittany sounded so _sure_ that she almost believed it.

"Britt," Santana sighed. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.

Brittany nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." She glanced towards the two men standing a few feet away.

"Right." The Latina rolled her eyes, before facing her former friends. "Lady Lips, Bow tie, I'm sorry that I'm being such a moody bitch. It's actually been happening a lot more recently." She shrugged. "I guess it's because I don't have Quinn here to keep me in check." She chuckled dryly.

"As always, I forgive you Satan. We all have our moments." Kurt said understandingly.

"Yeah it's totally fine Santana. You're going through a lot, we get it." Blaine offered her a small smile.

Santana half-heatedly returned it. "Yeah, well, are you guys hungry? Britt wanted to head over to Breadstix after we drop everything off at your apartment, Kurt."

Kurt looked to Blaine, who nodded in approval. "Sure, that sounds fine." He answered.

"Great, so we're all set." Brittany said happily, attempting to get rid of the tension. "Kurt's first, then Breadstix." She listed off on her fingers.

"Sounds like a plan." Blaine gave everyone a bright smile, much to Santana's displeasure, and followed Brittany through the crowded airport.

...

Brittany watched their waiter walk away after taking their drink orders, before turning her attention back to the conversation taking place in front of her.

"How is Rachel? And don't sugarcoat it, I want the real deal." Kurt shot Santana a pointed look.

Santana shrugged and leaned more into Brittany's side, who had her arm wrapped protectively around her girlfriend. "It could be worse. I've been telling her about everyone and what's been going on, one of the nurses told me that it could help with rejogging her memory."

"I'll for sure be visiting her tomorrow, if not tonight." Kurt nodded while thumbing through his menu. "I must remind her of our NYADA days, those were glorious."

"If you're referring to glorious as in _annoying as hell,_ then yes they sure were." Santana rolled her eyes.

"I mean, remember that time we put on _The_ _Sound of Music_ and Rachel was Maria while I played Papa Von Trapp, amazingly if I may add." He smiled dreamingly while Blaine patted his hand in agreement.

"That was the strangest pairing I've ever witnessed in my twenty six years of living." Santana mumbled to no one in particular.

"I'm sure that was...something." Brittany smiled politely.

"Oh trust me, it was." Kurt smiled brightly, "I think I still have it on DVD, I'll be sure to show you sometime Britt." He promised.

"Awesome." Brittany nodded and looked to Santana, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

"Excuse me ladies, I need to use the little boy's room." Kurt excused himself while sliding out of the booth.

"I'll come with you." Blaine quickly follows Kurt, still somewhat scared of the Latina.

Santana glanced at Brittany, and Brittany's eyes met Santana's, both choosing to stay silent instead of starting a conversation consisting of small talk until Kurt and Blaine got back.

"So..." Brittany breathed out, the silence becoming too much for her.

"_So_." Santana repeated with an arched brow.

Brittany cleared her throat and awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. "You never told me why you weren't talking to Quinn." She stated carefully, not wanting to upset the Latina.

"Oh." Santana's body tensed.

"I talked to her the other day." Brittany said, almost sadly, and Santana's face went hard. "We had somewhat of a conversation."

"Why?" She snapped harshly, and the blonde winced. "Why would you do that?"

"I-"

"Forget it." Santana held up her hand, "I'm not concerned about it."

"I know you've been thinking about what Quinn told you. She told me too, you know. Accused me of using you." Brittany kept her gaze focused on Santana's face, while the Latina continued to toy with her silverware. "Is that what you thought was going on?"

"I don't know!" Santana yelled, earning some unwanted attention from the people sitting around them.

"You don't know what?" Kurt raised a brow as he slid back into the booth, Blaine following a second later.

Santana and Brittany tore their eyes away from each other and frowned at Kurt. "Nothing." They quickly replied at the same time.

Kurt's brow never faltered as he glanced between both women, clearly not buying that line. "Okayyy..."

"Is everything alright?" Blaine spoke up, earning a glare from Santana.

"Everything's fine." Brittany smiled while focusing back on the menu laying in front of her, ignoring the feeling of Santana's eyes on her.

"You sure about that?"

"She said everything was fine Lady Lips, let's leave it at that." Santana snapped.

Kurt and Blaine exchanged a not so subtle look, before silently turning their attention back to their menus in order to avoid Snixx's wrath.

"What a lovely welcome back lunch." Kurt mumbled quietly and twirled his finger in the air.

Blaine hummed in agreement, Brittany offered him a small, apologetic smile and Santana chose to stay silent.

...

**Two days later**

Brittany walked into the grimy prison, located in the weakest part of New Jersey, where most of the gang-banging crimes happen. She checked in at the front and showed the manly woman her identification, before taking a seat in one of the chairs while she waited to be called.

"Officer Pierce." A large man called from the doorway a few minutes later, motioning for Brittany to follow him.

She stood up and tightened her jacket around herself, and followed him to the back room where the meeting would take place.

Brittany slid on the uncomfortable stool and unhooked the black phone from it's spot on the wall, as a large Hispanic man mimicked her actions on the opposite side of the glass barrier.

"Johnson." She spoke firmly, keeping her gaze focused on his face.

He offered her a sly smile and replied with, "Pierce. Haven't seen you since you put me in this hell hole, how've you been?"

"Cut the small talk shit, we both know that's not what I'm here for." Brittany's face was hard and her tone was sharp. She had to force herself from keeping the smirk to appear on her face when she noticed Johnson's demeanor falter for half a second.

"Alright, alright." Johnson held his hand up defensively, "Go ahead, ask your questions. I know you've been _dying_ to."

"When we first arrested you, you told us that you worked alone." Brittany said, as more of a statement then a question.

Johnson nodded, "Yeah."

"And we both knew that wasn't true," She continued. "You had a partner or two. And they're still out there, roaming the city while you're locked up in here."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

Brtitany clenched her jaw and tightened her hold on the phone. "Don't play games with me right now, Johnson. I told you I would help lower your sentence if you help me with these unknown guys. You aren't holding up your side of the deal." She snapped.

Johnson sighed. "Listen Pierce, I may not be able to give you any names, but you know who it is." He stated. "Or _was_, I don't know what type of crimes are happening now."

Brittany impatiently tapped her fingers against the steel surface of the counter. "I really don't."

"But you do," Johnson insisted, "You work with them."

Brittany's hand dropped and she turned her attention back to the man with furrowed brows. "Excuse me?" She whispered harshly.

"Time's up." One of the security guards removed the phone from Johnson's hand and stood him up.

"What the _fuck_? No!" Brittany slammed her fist against the glass, yelling out in frustration when they ignored her calls and continued to walk away.

...

**to whoever asked me how long this fic would be, I'm really not sure to be honest but it'll probably be longer than I had originally thought.**

**tumblr- brittanafor3verr **


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